To Freeze Her Heart
by penofmischief
Summary: [Death:T Centered] After being defeated, Kaiba Seto will go at any lengths to get revenge on Yuugi & his friends. With that, Shizuka is thrown into a dark, dark world where her brother's very life is in the crucible & only she can stop it. [SetoShizuka!]
1. Prologue: Human Juggernaut

**Author Note: **This fiction revolves around the manga—only Shizuka (Jounouchi's Imooto/Little Sister) has been placed in it. You can read more about the personalities of the characters in the author notes. Speaking of which, the first offer note of this fiction will give you information on Kaiba, so bottom's up! (insert anime happy face)

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**Disclaimer: **I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh in anyway. I am simply doing a fanfiction on the subject.

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**Plot:** After being defeated by Mutou Yuugi in the Magic and Wizards card game, Kaiba Seto will go at any lengths to get revenge on him and his friends. However, when Jounouchi's little sister Shizuka enters the picture, how will that work to Kaiba's advantage? Nonetheless, the abduction of Shizuka is merely an "upgrade" for his ultimate plan for vengeance. Or rather, the _Ultimate Game._

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**Genre: **Romance/Angst/Drama/Suspense

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**Pairing(s):**

Seto/Shizuka

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**Warning:** T (PG-13) (Parent Guidance Suggested) For Scary Scenes, Cursing and Mild Sensuality

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-_Imperfect __Paradise__ (Yamiko)_

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To Freeze Her Heart  
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By Imperfect Paradise

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**-Prologue-  
**"Human Juggernaut"

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On that warm, golden afternoon, the sun hung high in the sky with nothing but small wisps of clouds for company. It was shining brightly down upon Southern Domino, down upon the gossiping teenagers, the ruthless thugs, the joyful shoppers, and the reckless children running about with their meaningless lives. 

A beach ball flew through the air, and landed into the chocolate stained hands of a small, child, who looked roughly around the age of eight. He grinned and passed it on to his friend, to took to dribbling it like a basketball upon the concrete ground. He smiled brightly and threw it back to his companion, the soft light ball flying through the air briefly. The child reached out for the ball, but missed it, the ball merely grazing the tips of his fingers. The ball continued to roll until it stopped in front of someone who had, up until that point, been walking down the street. The child ran up for the ball (ready to get it out of the person's way) however, before he could even bend down to retrieve it, the figure in front of it had placed his foot down upon the ball, making it clear that he didn't want it to leave. The child noticed this action, and with confusion, forced himself to make eye-contact with the man. The man, was in fact, not a man, but rather a sixteen year old boy with chestnut colored hair and blazing cobalt blue eyes. He wore what looked like the local high school uniform, a blue jacket fastened together with golden buttons and blue trousers with just came over parts of his sleek black loafers. He was also holding onto what looked like a reinforced steel briefcase, which he held stiffly by his side. From a distance, he didn't look like much, nevertheless, despite his age, he had the intimidation of a man who looked as though he belonged in the mafia. In addition, the briefcase looked as though it could have been a potential weapon.

For a moment, the child and the boy just stared at each other, not saying anything. Until, at long last, one of them decided to speak.

The boy asked, or rather drawled, "Is this _yours_?"

The child's eyes widened, frightened by the boy's icy tone. It was so cold… He felt his hair stand on end, only just by hearing it. However, even in this state of fear, he found himself nodding dumbly. The boy stared at the child with what appeared to be annoyance. For if there was one thing he hated in this world, it was the stupidity of the innocent society. He then closed his and eyes and smirked. "Is it?" he asked.

For a moment, he just stood there, smirking, not doing anything else. The child watched him intensely, his heart racing a mile a minute. 'What is he doing,' he thought.

Then, in no time flat, the poor child got his answer.

The boy's eyes shot open and without warning, his foot slammed against the pure gravity of the earth, popping the thin, inflated ball within a fraction of a second. The image of a Black Magician (which had been imprinted on the ball) disappeared within moments. The child stared down at what had once been his old toy, tears leaking down from his eyes. He then brought his hands up to his face and cried, disappointed and hurt. He couldn't believe he had just done that. His friend saw this and stared, shocked as well. However, he looked back at the boy and glared at him.

As the young child continued to cry, the boy wrinkled his nose at this site. Another thing he hated on this planet: tears. He then turned away from him, hissing out of the corner of his mouth, "Weakling." He then made a motion to walk away.

However, before he could even take a full three steps, the child's companion suddenly ran up to him, his eyes burning with fury. He stood before the boy, and while spreading his arms out, blocked the path of the monster. The boy stopped once again, and took to glaring at the young man. The companion hissed at him, "Hey! You should say you're sorry!"

The boy just stared at the friend and hissed, "Move..."

The friend stared at the boy with a vacant expression. 'Does he think he can just do what ever he wants,' he thought. When he got no initial response, the boy actually tried to walk around him, but the kid relocated, and continued to block him. The boy, while in the midst of slowly loosing his temper, growled softly, "You're in my way..."

The friend tightened his fists, while sweat poured down the side of his face. In truth, he was pretty scared of this boy, knowing he was completely outmatched, but even in the time of his mental peril, he could still hear the stifled sobs of his friend behind the darkness of his consciousness. His eyes shot open, and while staring into the eyes of the monster, he hissed, "Say your sorry, and I will move!"

The boy's expression didn't change at all. Something like this could do little more than to impress him. In truth, he did care about the boy's affection towards his friend and his determination. Although, what he thought of it wasn't positive. Something like this sickened him...

He inhaled deeply before he lowered his head. He snarled, "I have no regrets..."

With that, he took the briefcase he held in his hand and whipped it out in front of it. It hit the friend of the child, slamming into him, the friend screaming out in pain before hitting the ground with a loud thud. As the boy walked away from the scene, the friend lay slouched on the ground, tears streaming down his eyes and mucous leaking out of his nose, mixing with the blood from his jaw. He whimpered, in numbed words, "Ma... mou..."

The child went over to his friend and bent down. He saw the terrible scene before him, and cried, "I'll get some help!" The friend cried as blood continued to bubble in his mouth, a tooth falling from his upper jaw. The child's eyes darted around, until he saw something that might be of assistance. It was a police officer, who had chosen that exact time to walk out of a coffee shop.

The child looked out in his direction and cried, "Help us!" The cop's head shot up, and took notice of the two children. He immediately dropped his bag (which contained a sack of Konai coffee) and ran over to them. He bent down towards the child's friend and inspected the damage. He said calmly, "Don't worry, I'll call someone." With that, he whipped out his radio phone and pressed the output button. He said, "Need an ambulance half way up main-street. Kid might had a broken jaw! Post Haste!" He then pocketed the radio and muttered out of the corner of his mouth, "What did you do to yourself, kid?"

The child then pointed towards the boy, who had continued walking, not giving a damn about what he had just done and who he had just hurt. The child pulled at the sleeve of the cop, while at the same time pointing at the boy and said, "He's the one who did it!"

The cop, ignoring him, said, "Alright, the ambulance is on its way..."

The child asked, "But… What about him?"

The cop meanwhile, pushed the friend slightly so that he was lying on his side. He said, while rubbing his back, "Take a deep breath, kid. You're going to be all right... Try not to swallow anything, okay…"

The child looked at the police officer, completely and utterly confused. He didn't understand why he wasn't going after the young man. Why wasn't he going in pursuit of him? Was it because, he didn't care? Was it because he thought it was meaningless? Was his friend's recovery his main priority?

Or was it because he was... afraid?

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"So, grandpa! Can you show us those cards! Please!" 

Mutou Sugoroku heard this, blinked, then stared down at his grandson and his friends. His lips thinned, pondering his answer, but then looked off into empty space. After a moment or two, he let out a defeated sigh and spoke, "All right, but just for a moment." With that, he walked into the back of the store, leaving Yuugi and his companions alone in the shop. Mutou Yuugi grinned, turned back towards his friends and explained, "Grandpa should be back within a few minutes."

Anzu Mazaki nodded once, and then stared out towards the open doorway to the shop as she commented, "The weather certainly is hot."

Hiroto Honda sighed, "Yeah, I feel like I am boiling in here..." He then turned around to face his friend and asked, "How about you, Jounouchi?"

Jounouchi didn't answer.

This caught Honda's attention, and in response, he hopped off of the cashier table and walked over towards Jounouchi's part of the shop. His eyebrows rose when he saw what Jounouchi was doing. He was staring down at something held tightly within his fingers—looking as if he didn't want anyone else to see it. Honda smirked at Jounouchi's protectiveness of the item.

Anzu also took notice of this as well. She smirked and asked, "Hey, Jounouchi, what do you have there?"

Before Jounouchi could answer, however, Honda had snatched it out of his hand and instantly walked away from Jounouchi. Jounouchi sat up (he had up until that point had been leaning on a shelf) and growled, "Give it back, Honda!"

Honda (ignoring him) whistled and commented as his eyes scanned the picture, "Man, Jounouchi... I never would have thought that you, out of all people would have a girl friend! Why didn't you tell me?"

Jounouchi glared and snatched it out of Honda's hand. Honda grunted at this, annoyed with Jounouchi's methods of reclaiming the item. Jounouchi turned away from Honda, cocked his head over towards him and hissed, "She's my sister!"

Yuugi leaned over towards the photograph, trying to get a better look at it from behind the counter. After regarding it for a moment, he smiled and asked, politely, "Oh, you have a sister, Jounouchi? What's her name?"

Jounouchi replied, while at the same time, trying to keep it out of Honda's reach, who had just begun one of his many attempts to grab it from over Jounouchi's shoulder, "Her name (Cut the crap Honda!) is Shizuka..."

Anzu stared at the picture (which in the meantime, was undergoing a tug-of-war between Jounouchi and Honda right in front of her), and asked, "How old is she? She looks rather close to our age, now doesn't she?"

Jounouchi growled (who finally managed to pry it away from Honda's grasp), "I dunno, about a year and a half younger than me..."

Honda heard this and grinned. He asked, "No kidding?" He then stretched his arm around Jounouchi shoulder and pulled him next to him. He asked, grinning in Jounouchi's face, "So when do I get to meet her?"

Jounouchi narrowed his eyes and asked through pried teeth, "What are you playing at?"

Honda sighed, and explained, "You are not seriously thinking of keeping her all to yourself?" He then completely faced him and asked,"Tell me, when is she coming?"

Yuugi sighed and shook his head. Anzu raised an eyebrow and muttered/asked, "Honda, _why _would 'she' be _coming?"_

Honda paused for a moment, suddenly realizing his dramatic error and his eyes widened. He remained like this for about two seconds. He sighed and muttered attention averting to the floor of the shop, "Eh... I was just hopeful..."

Jounouchi heard this and lunged for Honda. He restrained him by the shoulders and side (making sure he wouldn't escape) and hissed, "What were you planning, Honda?"

Honda's eyes widened and so did his grin. He spoke, nervously, "Oh... I dunno... I just wanted to—"

Jounouchi narrowed his eyes and growled, "You son of a—" With that, he began to apply pressure and Honda cried out in pain. As Honda continued to yelp, Yuugi let out a sigh and Anzu placed her hands out on her hips, glaring at the two. She nagged, "Will you cut that—"

"All right! Here it is!"

With that, Yuugi's grandfather walked back into the room, closing the door of the storage facility behind him. He appeared to be holding a shoebox in both of his hands. He chuckled as he stood before them and said with a grin on his face, "My private stash... I rarely show these to anybody…" With that, he placed it down upon the check out table and whipped the top off. He then reached in, and pulled out six cards from the box and held them out so Yugi and his friends could see them. He spoke, "This game is such a hit in America—behold! The game of Magic and Wizards!" **(A/N 1)**

With that, Yuugi's grandfather flipped the cards in their direction them, revealing what was printed on the paper. Their backgrounds were yellowish brown, and had a picture of a monster printed across the center of each one of them. They also had strange numbers below them, ranging anywhere from one hundred to twenty five hundred.

Yuugi chuckled as he pulled out some more cards from the box and grinned, "Yeah, they have got a small following in Japan too." He was looking at what looked like a purple Egyptian shaman with a strange staff, the number below it reading twenty five hundred and twenty one hundred. He showed them off to his friends and explained, "They are different then normal playing cards. See how each of them has a different picture on them? And to think, that there are thousands of these cards!"

Anzu grinned as she reached for one in Yuugi's hand. She commented, "Awesome! The art-work is just incredible." She then stopped when she pulled out what looked like a pink gargoyle with a unicorn horn poking out of the center of its head. She grimaced, "However, some of them are pretty ugly..."

Jounouchi stared at the ones in his hand and commented, "Yeah, I'll say..."

Yuugi turned back over to his grandfather and smiled eagerly. Sugoroku Mutou stared right back at him. Yuugi asked, "Hey, grandpa... Can you show us _the_ card."

Sugoroku's eyes widened. He asked, "You mean, _the_ card?"

Honda, Anzu and Jounouchi looked at the two peculiarly, not knowing what in the world they were referring to. Jounouchi asked with and odd look upon his normally handsome features, "Uhh… What are you guys talking about?"

Yuugi's grandfather sighed once again and said, "I suppose I can show you—but only for a moment..." He added the last part with some skepticism in his voice. With that, he reached into his pant pocket and pulled out a small wooden box. Without a word, he unscrewed the latch and opened it up. Inside was a single duel monster card. He took it in hand and carefully slipped it out of its plastic protector.

He held it out before them and grinned, "Behold, the Blue Eyes White Dragon! This is the rarest of the secret rare cards!" Everyone took a look at the card and gasped at what they saw.

It certainly wasn't like the other cards they just saw. This card was unique in almost every way. The card was holofoil, shining magnificently and had gold letters engraved within the card's title and stats. The image showed a monster like none they had ever seen. It was magnificent pale colored dragon, with cobalt blue eyes and menacing silver claws and teeth. It had eight stars hovering above the picture (also holofoil)—making them wonder what they meant.

Jounouchi, Anzu and Honda stared at it and gasped, "Amazing!" Yuugi couldn't help but beam at his grandfather. Sugoroku chuckled at this and at their appreciation. He grinned as he held it higher and explained, "One of the four in the world. It was so powerful that they had stopped production of such a rare card. Collectors would pay through the nose to get their hands on one of these."

Jounouchi was beyond inspired by these cards. He instantly fished out a 2,000 yen bill from his pocket and slammed it on the cashier table. He grinned and demanded, "Mr. Mutou, I'd like to buy some cards. Give me a pack with plenty of strong ones, would yah?"

Mr. Mutou chuckled and grinned, "I am sorry, but you won't know what you get till you open the pack." He chuckled to himself as he swapped the bill with four packs of cards. Jounouchi opened them up and grinned. As he eyed what looked like a ogre made of solid rock, he said in awe "Man, these look powerful!"

Yuugi peered over into Jounouchi's hand, and shook his head with a smirk on his face. 'Jounouchi,' he thought.

At that time, Honda suddenly shoved Jounouchi aside and growled. "Don't block the way—blockhead!" Jounouchi stared at him angrily and hissed, "What do you mean blockhead? Why I outta—"

Honda, (ignoring him) turned towards Sugoroku, reached for his pocket and asked, "How much, gramps?" However, before Sugoroku could even answer, the bell to the shop wrung, indicating that someone had entered the store. They then heard footsteps as the person stepped inside. They all stared at the door and their eyes widened at the identity of the mysterious stranger.

It was a young man, around their age, with liver/chestnut-colored hair and royal/cobalt blue eyes. He had a small smile on his face, however, it was so small, that it made you wonder if the guy was actually 'happy.'The young man looked around (did his nose just wrinkle) and drawled, "So, this is the shop that your family owns Yuugi... How, err—_nice_..."

Yuugi's eyes widened, recognizing him. His eyebrows rose as he commented, "Oh yeah! You're Kaiba from our homeroom class, aren't you?"

Kaiba smirked and bowed his head slightly. He replied, "Correct… My name is Kaiba Seto…" He then walked over to them, eyes darting around the shop. When he reached the area where they were standing, he took notice of what was in their hands. He asked, "Oh... You play Magic and Wizards?"

Jounouchi grinned, "Of course! Do you duel too, Kaiba? You can join our group tomorrow. We are going to battle against each other..."

Kaiba stared at them a moment, not saying anything. He then let out a single laugh, and his lips curled into a nasty sneer. He drawled snobbishly, "Don't be ridiculous. You really think you can fight against me? I am good enough to compete in the championship."

Jounouchi looked taken aback by this. He asked, "Is that so?"

Kaiba smirked and held out his hand. He said, "Let me see your cards." However, despite how polite it may have sounded to some, it was more straightforward. Meaning, it was most certainly not a request, but rather a demand. Jounouchi uneasily handed his cards over to him. However, he failed to notice that the picture of his little sister was stuck between two of his cards. Kaiba snatched them out of his hands and stared at them. After a few seconds, the smirk on his face morphed into a grin. He then threw them to the ground and sighed, "Man... What a pathetic collection. I was hoping for you to have a monster with stats at least over twenty hundred attack points. You don't even have one that is over fifteen hundred—how pathetic."

Jounouchi, (even though he had been severely insulted by Seto Kaiba) dived down and began to pick up his cards. He then noticed that the picture of Shizuka was laying about one foot away from his grasp. He reached for it, but Kaiba stepped on the picture on the ground, keeping Jounouchi from grabbing it.

He chuckled and looked at what was underneath his foot. He smirked, and commented, "Well, well, well... What _do_ we have _here?'"_ With that, he bent down, and reached out for the scrap of paper and picked it up. He smirked as he thought, 'Probably more valuable then the cards he owns.' He flipped it before him, and his eyebrows rose slightly.

It looked like a fourteen year old girl, with auburn colored hair, looking almost as soft as silk, with beautiful honey colored brown eyes. She was wearing what looked like pink buttoned blouse and blue jeans.

He chuckled and said in awe, "My, my... Such a pretty face..." He then looked at Jounouchi and asked, "Is she your wife or something?"

Jounouchi hissed, eyes burning with all out fury, "She's my sister, you asshole!" With that, he reached for Kaiba's hand (ready to snatch it away) but Kaiba smirked and held it over his head, out of Jounouchi's reach).

As Jounouchi tried to grab it, jumping up and down, Kaiba looked to the side and drawled, "Do tell me, does a shop like this own _any_ good cards?" He then looked at the cashier table and took notice of what Sugoroku was putting away. When his eyes scanned the image, his mind completely blanked out for a whole second. His pupils shrank and he cried, "WHAT!"

Then he unconsciously stuffed the picture into his pocket and ran over to the cashier table. He slammed his hands down on the counter and exclaimed, "How could such a small, stupid shop have such a rare card!" He reached for the Blue Eyes White Dragon card, his eyes never leaving it and asked, "Old man! Where did you get—"

Yuugi's grandfather (obviously not trusting this young man after seeing how he treated his grandson's friend) quickly put it away and spoke as politely as he could, "Sorry, you can't see that!" Kaiba stared at him and asked, confused, "What do you mean?"

Sugoroku inhaled deeply and explained slowly, "I mean to say that that particular card isn't for sale..."

Kaiba heard this and his eyes widened. He then snarled and without a word, slammed his briefcase down on the table. Sugoroku jumped back, this action surprising him. Kaiba looked at him straight in the eye, and said (in a harsh voice), "Old man, if you give me that card, I'll give you everything you see here…" With that, he flipped the briefcase open, revealing thousands of holofoil cards, sparkling in Yuugi's grandfather's eyes.

Everyone who saw this had their jaw drop. Honda cried, staggering backwards, "Wowzaah! A briefcase full of cards!"

Yuugi's eyes sparkled as he commented, "And not just _any_ cards: _super rare _ones! _Look!_ There is Mirage Knight, Card Destruction, Penguin Soldier—Wow! You rarely ever get to see those cards!"

However, this did little to impress Mr. Mutou. His eyes narrowed, and he hissed as he pushed the case away forcefully, Kaiba staring horrified. He said through pried teeth, "No."

Kaiba narrowed his eyes, and while his hand tightening against the brief-case, said slowly, "You cannot be serious..."

Yuugi stared at his grandfather and asked (almost shocked), "You're turning him _down_, gramps?"

Honda wiped his forehead and he sighed, "Double wowzaah..."

Kaiba stared at him, with something between shock and pure hatred. He couldn't believe it! He had turned him down! He wanted that card! How could that stupid elderly bum not want to trade with him! He thought, 'Makes sense, though. If I had that card, I wouldn't sell it or trade it for anything... Damn, that stupid git knows that card's value!'

He then slammed his brief-case shut, took it off the counter (knocking some merchandise to the ground) and stormed out of the store. He left them all there, staring at them, not giving them a second thought. He then began to make his way back home. He narrowed his eyes. It didn't matter what they thought of him. He would be back for that card... No matter what.

He then stuffed his hand into his pocket (grumbling quietly to himself) but his eyes widened when he felt his fingers curl around something. His eyes shot open as he withdrew the small photograph. He stared at it, not knowing what to say. The girl's eyes seemed to stare back at him—heh he could see the light in them. He then stopped and stood in the middle of the road, continuing to stare at the laminated paper. His eyes narrowed. His grip tightened around the photo. He thought, 'So what...'

With that, his fingers enclosed completely around the photograph, eclipsing it, crumpling it up into a small ball. He then began to make his way over to a trashcan and was preparing to hurl the photograph in, when he paused once again. He closed his eyes and smirked. He said allowed, again, "Yeah... so what..."

With that, he took the small crumpled up piece of paper and gently placed it back into his pocket.

With that, the human juggernaut continued to walk to god only knows where... **(A/N 2) **

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- TO BE CONTINUED-

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The following is _not_ meant to be counter fanfictionDOTnet format. These are merely author notes. They are not meant to counteract the rules or restrictions of the webmaster's policies in anyway. Thank you for your attention.

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**Author Note 1 –** In the manga, the original name for Duel Monsters was "Magic and Wizards."

**Author Note 2 –** The following is a sample from the original manga. This is _not _plagiarism. This is merely an example (which I do not own) to explain the personal background of this fiction. I do not own this dialogue, I did not come up with it.

_Grandpa lost...!__  
Th—this young man... How did he get a hold of these ultra rare cards?  
Mheh heh... Only four copies of the "Blue Eyes White Dragon" are known to exist. Of course, they are all found in the hands of fanatic collectors around the world. I searched them out... And you old man.  
Of course, none of them agreed when I told them to just hand them over... so I used a little bit of force... I used my wealth to force them to bankruptcy, or I made deals with the mafia... One of them even committed 'suicide!'  
What a terrible young man!  
Bwa-hahahahahahah! And now you will **know death**__ by virtual reality! Bwa-hahahahahahah! _

Yes, Kaiba clearly resembles the devil incarnate. Also, Mokuba is no exception either. He will be just as evil (he actually was in the original manga). For example, he had forced Yuugi into a game of capsule monsters, and threatened to cut off his finger if he lost. When Mokuba lost the game, Yuugi gave him a penalty game and sealed him away in a bubble for that day. The second time through, Mokuba held Anzu and Jounouchi hostage—just to make sure Yuugi battled with him.


	2. Chapter 1: Blind Aura

**Disclaimer: **We have been over this. I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh in any way. Thank you for your time.

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**Plot:** After being defeated by Mutou Yuugi in the Magic and Wizards card game, Kaiba Seto will go at any lengths to get revenge on him and his friends. However, when Jounouchi's little sister Shizuka enters the picture, how will that work to Kaiba's advantage? Nonetheless, the abduction of Shizuka is merely an "upgrade" for his ultimate plan for vengeance. Or rather, the _Ultimate Game._

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**Genre: **Romance/Angst/Drama/Suspense

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**Pairing(s):**

Seto/Shizuka

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**Warning:** T (PG-13) (Parent Guidance Suggested) For Scary Scenes, Cursing and Mild Sensuality

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-_Imperfect __Paradise__ (Yamiko)_

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To Freeze Her Heart  
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By Imperfect Paradise

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**-Chapter One-  
**"Blind Aura"

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"Man, Jounouchi, you need to get some better cards…"

"Seriously, even your secret weapon is weak…"

Jounouchi looked sourly up at Yuugi and muttered, "Can it, Yuugi…"

Yuugi grinned, while savoring his success, and leaned back into his chair—cradling his head with his elbows. He suddenly perked up, remembering something. He grinned and reminded his friend, "By the way, Jounouchi, you know the rules—fork over a card!" With that, he held his hand out, his eyes sparkling slightly with anticipating for his prize. Jounouchi groaned before he went through his graveyard pile. Once he found a reasonable card, (Harpy's Brother) he sighed for a moment before he handed it over to Yuugi. He muttered, "Take it—one of my best cards…"

Yuugi took it, shook his head (simply pitying Jounouchi for his terrible luck when acquiring Magic and Wizards cards through the packs he purchased) and sighed, "Just keep collecting, Jounouchi, and in time, you will get better. You know, it took my grandfather five years before he constructed a deck he was happy with—

_"Five Years!"_ Jounouchi exclaimed—almost knocking his desk over as he stood up. However, he was unfortunate enough to have his cards get scattered all over the floor. As they landed one by one on the ground, littering themselves practically everywhere, he shook his head (not very happy) and muttered, "Man…"

As Jounouchi bent down to pick up his cards (with the assistance of Honda and Yuugi), in the back of the room, Kaiba sat in his desk, his eyes glued to his book, seemingly reading. But in truth, he hadn't really been focusing on the novel at all. He had really overseen and overheard the duel between Jounouchi and Yuugi, and saw the basis of their talent. He smirked as he thought, 'Hmph… Even the grade schoolers at the national championship are stronger than them. I could beat them and claim their strongest card without any difficulty at all—'

His eyes suddenly widened as another thought resurfaced in his mind, but they quickly narrowed once again. He remembered the events of the other day, when he had walked into that pitiful shop and saw "the" card that he had always dreamed of having. After several years of searching, he had finally found and seen the Blue Eyes White Dragon. The most powerful normal Monster in Magic and Wizards. He had never expected to find a card like that in Japan—nevertheless in a rundown shop such as that one.

Of course, he had wanted that card—but he had never thought about actually searching for it. For years, he had dreamed of touching even just one of the cards—but now his desire had evolved. He didn't just want to see that card, he didn't want to touch it—he wanted to _posses_ it. To add that card to his collection would mean sovereignty for him in the Magic and Wizards community. Invincibility! His passion had completely exploded—and he had decided he would go at any lengths to have that card.

Still…

He sunk down into his desk, a frown quite visible on his face. The problem was, Yuugi would never sell it—that looser was too loyal to that stupid old geezer. He would never betray him in any situation. He growled softly as he clutched the sides of his hardcover book even more, nearly damaging it.

God _damn_ it! He wanted that card! He wanted it, damnit! Moreover, to deny him that privilege was no acceptable under any circumstances. He then looked down at the ground and thought to himself, 'The question is… How _do_ I get my hands on it?'

Just then, he heard the sound of something slamming against a desk. His vision peered over his book (he wouldn't completely look up—that was more of Jounouchi's style) and saw that the blonde haired dolt was out of his seat, and he was putting his deck (he had just finished organizing it), his binder, his notebook and school-books (he had those?) back into his backpack.

Kaiba's eyebrows rose as he thought, 'Where does he think he's going?'

Yuugi stared at him peculiarly and asked, "Jounouchi-kun, what are you doing?"

Jounouchi stopped in the midst of his packing, looked up at Yuugi for a brief moment before continuing with his preparations for his departure. He grunted as he began to cram what was left of his stuff into his super tight backpack, "Well…(grunt) My little sister gets in… (grunt) a half hour from now. (grunt) I volunteered (grunt) to pick her up."

Honda suddenly looked up at him and asked (his interest piqued), "Really? So she _is_ coming?" Then his face fell when he realized a major problem with the situation. He then looked at Jounouchi and cleared his throat, asking, "Um… she isn't staying with _you_, is she?"

Jounouchi almost spat before turning towards Honda. He hissed at Honda between clenched teeth (for the hatred he held for his father was unimaginable), "Are you bull shitting me? If I let her stay with me and my dad—god knows what could happen if I was to go off on my own. For instance, what if he comes back home with his friends after Drinking hour? I can't let her be alone with him at that time! That is when that bastard is the worst…"

Yuugi looked up and asked, "So where is she staying? It's obvious that she isn't going to come home with you…"

Jounouchi looked up and motioned his head over towards Anzu. He muttered, "Anzu has already agreed to take her in." As he finished packing away his things, he looked over at her and smiled. "Thanks a bunch, Anzu… You have no idea how much this means to me…"

Anzu looked up from her book and smiled, "Don't mention it, Jounouchi. Friends help each other, right?" With that, she looked back at her novel and continued to read.

Jounouchi smiled and nodded towards her direction just as he swung his backpack over his shoulders. He took in a breath before he stated, "So… Let's get going…"

Anzu nodded for a moment (still reading) before she realized what he was implying. She perked up and chirped, as she closed her book, "Oh! Of course! Forgive me—I am just as dense as you are right now…"

Jounouchi narrowed his eyes. He asked, "What is _that_ suppose to mean?"

Anzu, paying no mind to his words, slipped her book back into the small pocket of her backpack, and walked off with Jounouchi. Yuugi and Honda watched as they walked out the door, leaving the classroom. Honda then looked up at Yuugi and grinned, "Hey, Yuugi… Want to duel?"

Yuugi nodded once, gathered up his cards and organized them into a perfect deck once again. Honda reached into his pocket and pulled out his deck (which was rather small—barely over the forty card limit) and sat down into Jounouchi's seat, ready to take off where Yuugi and Jounouchi had left off.

As they began to draw their five cards, Kaiba continued to watch them out of the corner of his eye. Kaiba, naturally, had overheard the whole thing. He closed his eyes and thought, 'Hmmmm… So, Jounouchi's little sister has come into town. Interesting…' He didn't know what he found so compelling about this news. In fact, a part of him shunned himself for even caring! Then, something severely sinister began churning within his mind, rising higher and higher with anticipation. A mischievous grin formed itself upon his features, and his eyes narrowed dangerously.

With that, he causally closed the book and placed it into his briefcase. He then stood up off of his desk, turned towards the front of the classroom, and began to walk away, the briefcase in his hand. As he passed by Honda and Yuugi, he purposely swung the briefcase directly into Honda's side, causing his eyes to widen. As Honda cried out in pain, Kaiba muttered (emotionlessly), "Forgive me…" and walked away as if he didn't do anything.

As he closed the door behind him, in the classroom, Honda rubbed his side and hissed, "God, that guy is a pain in the ass…"

Yuugi sighed and shared his concerns. "Honda, I am sure he isn't _that_ bad. It was probably just an accident."

Honda muttered, hand at last leaving his side, "Yeah right…" glaring into the direction where Kaiba had left.

As Honda continued to stare at the door vehemently, Yuugi took the liberty of lightly kick Honda in the shin, attempting to get his attention. Honda turned towards his direction, still a little angry from what Kaiba had done and snapped, "What!"

Yuugi raised one of his eyebrows and reminded him, "Your move…"

Honda, finally snapping back into reality, said aloud, "Oh! Right!" He then looked back down at his hand, and tried to come up with a fair combination. After a few moments, he fianlly pulled out a card out from his hand and grinned as he placed it face-up on the field. He grinned, "I will place Hour Glass of Life onto the field and activate it's special ability." With that, he crossed out one thousand life points on a sheet of paper and added 500 attack points to his monster. **(A/N 1)** He then sat back in his chair and added smugly, "and end my turn."

Yuugi grinned as he took out a card from his hand and placed it on the field. He smiled, "I Play the Evil Knight Gaia (Gaia The Fierce Knight) and attack! I win again!" With that, Honda's face turned into a pure look of utter disappointment…

* * *

"Welcome back, Shizuka-Chan…"

Jounouchi reached out for Shizuka's hand, taking it within his own, ready to help his sister off the bus. Shizuka paused for a moment, just before she cautiously took stepped down from the bus. Once she was secure on the Earth, she looked back off into empty space, Anzu eyeing her oddly. Jounouchi's happiness flickered, understanding what was going on. He asked, "Your eye-sight is getting worse, isn't it?"

Shizuka put a smile on her face, trying to clear up any unhappiness and chirped, "I guess, but at least I can see _you_, Onii-chan." Jounouchi looked at her sadly. "Just barely, yes, but I can make you out. That is what matters, isn't it?"

Jounouchi shook his head, a small smile slowly morphing itself onto his lips. 'So much like Shizuka,' he thought, 'Always trying to keep the happy mood up. I have missed this personality so much.' He then smirked, and reached out for Anzu's shoulder, dragging her over next to him. Anzu narrowed her eyes and while trying to shove Jounouchi's hand off her shoulder, complained, "Hey! Not so hard!"

Jounouchi ignored her and grinned in his little sister's direction, "Anyway, Shizuka-Chan, this is Anzu! You are going to room with her during your visit to Domino City."

Anzu smiled, deciding to let Jounouchi's actions slide for a moment, and reached her hand out towards her, hoping for a handshake. She smiled and commented, "Nice to meet you, Shizuka-Chan!"

Shizuka looked taken aback by this. Not even taking Anzu's hand, she looked at Jounouchi sadly and asked, "Why? I can't stay with you and dad?"

Jounouchi remained silent for a moment. He then sighed deeply, before he answered, "Don't get me wrong, Shizuka… I would love for you to stay with us—but, um… (he exhaled deeply) Dad isn't the same person he used to be." Shizuka looked at him with a confused expression. Jounouchi continued, "Not by a long shot. Trust me Shizuka; it's for your own safety. Besides, Anzu will take good care of you…"

Shizuka looked at him with concern, "What's wrong with him?"

Jounouchi rubbed his hands together and abruptly changing the subject. He said with a happy expression, "Now, let's get your bags and go. This places smells bad." With that, he walked over towards the other side of the bus. Once he was there, he bent over and reached into the side of the luggage compartment and pulled out Shizuka's suitcase. As he stood up, the suitcase firmly in his hand, he noticed a familiar reflection staring at him through the metallic silver metal surrounding the buss. He blinked for a moment, taking into account exactly who that person was. After doing so, he snarled quietly to himself. He cocked his head out behind him, (catching Anzu's and Shizuka's attention) and saw someone he knew all too well, watching them from across the street.

He narrowed his eyes and dropped the suitcase, clutching the hand that _was_ holding it with into a fist. Anzu, staring at her friend oddly, asked, confused, "What is it, Jounouchi?" She then looked over as she saw the figure crossing the street, his silver briefcase in hand. Her eyes widened, before they rolled slightly as she thought, 'Oh, for heaven's sake… He couldn't still mad for what happened yesterday, could he?'

As he walked over towards them, Jounouchi looked as though he was going to explode. His blood boiled inside, clearly remembering what this guy had _done_ to him the other day. Once the boy stood before them (Jounouchi twitching violently), he grinned and said, "Well, well, well—if it isn't the good friends of Yuugi Mutou…"

Jounouchi growled as he flung his index finger out towards him, hissing furiously, "Kaiba, what _the_ _hell_ are you doing here!"

Kaiba closed his eyes, cocked his head over to the side and spoke in an arrogant manner, "Jounouchi—why the negative attitude? Is there something wrong?"

Jounouchi shook violently, his chocolate eyes flashing, a vein pulsing dangerously in his forehead. He spoke through clenched teeth, "You didn't answer my question, you asshole—what are you doing here!"

Kaiba sighed and while clicking his tongue, shook his head back and forth. He explained, "I am not here to cause trouble. I simply forgot to return your photo-graph from the other day." With that, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the worn photograph of his sister (he had straightened it up a bit before he came). Jounouchi stared open mouthed before he took snatched it out of Kaiba's hand. He calculated the damage, quickly analyzing what it had become since the time Kaiba had taken it. His eyes squinted tightly and his teeth bared. He slowly turned towards him and growled, "_What_ did you _do_ to this!"

Kaiba narrowed his eyes and smirked. He then shrugged and said innocently, "I used it for a coaster—is that a crime? It is an extremely beautiful coaster. Oh, and I kind of squeezed it in my hand when something irritated me. Other than that—I would say I didn't do anything to it."

At those words, Jounouchi looked ready to kill Kaiba. But he couldn't. He was barred from doing so. Why? Anzu and Shizuka were watching the scene from directly behind him. No matter what, he had to set a good example for his sister. It was his duty as her older brother and as her temporary guardian…

As Shizuka and Anzu stared at them, Jounouchi growled before he shook his head. He then pointed over towards the other side of the street and growled, "Whatever. You have returned it—now, could you do us all a favor and go away!"

Kaiba smirked and countered, "Why?"

Jounouchi growled, and ran his hands through his hair, hissing angrily, "There is no _why_ about it, you tenacious son of a bitch, now, _leave!" _

Kaiba simply smirked and walked right past him, as if he was walking by a normal pedestrian who couldn't care less about what he did. This severely pissed Jounouchi off. Jounouchi tried to aim a punch at him, but Kaiba countered by slamming his briefcase into his stomach, sending him directly onto the hard concrete ground. Jounouchi hit the ground with a tremendous force and used all of his power to keep himself from crying out.

As Jounouchi grimaced, Kaiba stood before Anzu and Shizuka. Anzu pushed Shizuka behind her, shielding her from Kaiba's wrath. Kaiba narrowed his eyes and asked, "Mazaki, what do you have against me?"

Anzu narrowed her eyes and asked (or hissed), "How can you badmouth people so casually? We have never done 'anything' to you—so why are you doing this?"

Shizuka looked out into open space, while at the same time, tried to throw a glance at the young man. Although she had said otherwise, in truth, her sight wasn't very good! In fact, it was close to terrible. She had only been reassuring Jounouchi—saying that her sight was better than it actually was. In truth, one of her eyes (the left) had completely failed her, while the other only sent blurry images to her mind—only being able to register movement. Kaiba stared at Shizuka and noticed that she was looking off into empty space. He taunted, "What? Can't see me?"

Shizuka lowered her gaze and spoke, "As I matter of fact—I barely can…"

Kaiba narrowed his eyes and asked, annoyance laced malice in his voice, "Why not?"

Shizuka spoke, tears beginning to form in her eyes from fear of the boy in front of her, "I c-can't help it… I was b-born with it…"

His eyes flashed dangerously (Shizuka unable to know) before he chuckled, "Well, that is a pity, now isn't it?"

With that, Kaiba smirked and used the freedom of his other hand (the one which had not been clasped around the briefcase) and shoved Anzu to the side, away from Shizuka. Anzu screamed as she hit the edge of the bus, causing Shizuka to gasp. However, before she could run over to help her (or at least try to), Kaiba had reached out and grabbed her by the shoulder, preventing her from moving. He then released her shoulder, giving Shizuka a little relief, before grasping Shizuka by the chin, forcing her to look straight at him. He smirked as he stroked her soft skin with his strong, thin fingers. Shizuka shuddered at his touch, his fingers were so cold. Kaiba then leaned closer to Shizuka and he spoke, "Jounouchi's sister, neh?" Shizuka whimpered as his grip tightened a bit. She prevented herself from crying out, yet continued to grimace from the pain. He continued, (not caring in the least that he had hurt her) "I wouldn't have expected him to have a sister like you. The exact opposite reflecting his stupid, ugly and clumsy nature." Shizuka could feel his hot breath against the side of her flesh. He was so close to her—so close. He then spoke, "After receiving the good genes from your parents, I wouldn't be surprised if you were the one who also received the brains, now would I?"

Shizuka's eyes finally hit home and released her tears, causing Kaiba to frown. It was common knowledge to him that tears were instruments of the weak—and he held a great immunity to them. Kaiba, however, hid this feeling, smirked and released her face (Shizuka letting out a sigh), and used the freedom of his hand to stroke one of his fingers across the base of her eyelid, wiping away one of her tears.

Jounouchi, as he finally stood up off the ground, felt rage course through his body. He could only take so much in and his anger was finally unleashed. He roared before running to tackle Kaiba from the side, hands extended before him, ready to give Kaiba his all. Kaiba , however, saw this coming and simply smirked. With that, he forcefully pushed Shizuka foreword, tailing her closely. Shizuka was pushed right against the bus and Kaiba pinning her there with his own body. He then watched from the corner of his eye as Jounouchi missed him and hit the trashcans on the other side of the parking lot in a nose-dive. Garbage scattered everywhere just as Jounouchi made contact.

As her brother moaned in pain on the ground, Kaiba turned to Shizuka and leaned close to her again, perhaps (this time) even closer. He then caressed her cheek with one of his hands and grinned, "Until we meet again…"

With that, he casually left the scene—leaving Shizuka crying in the parking lot, and Anzu rushing over to help Jounouchi. As Anzu peeled bits and pieces of garbage out from his hair, she sighed, "Jounouchi, you shouldn't have done that…"

Jounouchi didn't respond. He was still quite pissed off at what Kaiba had done to him and his sister. He narrowed his eyes and watched as Kaiba turned the corner of the street. He growled (kicking one of his shins out towards his direction), "Kaiba! You are so going to get it some day! _Mark my words!"_

* * *

- TO BE CONTINUED-

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The following is _not_ meant to be counter fanfictionDOTnet format. These are merely author notes. They are not meant to counteract the rules or restrictions of the webmaster's policies in anyway. Thank you for your attention.

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**Author Note 1 –** I am aware that Hour Glass of Life is a normal monster. However, in the video game "Reshef of Destruction" it actually had a special ability. You can add 500 attack strength to Hour Glass of Life and all the monsters on the field—with the cost of one thousand life points. It is very handy at the beginning of the game—but once you move on to Malik, it is pretty much useless.


	3. Chapter 2: Tenacious Desire

**Author Note: **So, this takes place after the time Yugi has defeated Kaiba the first time in the manga (for those who only watch the second anime (Japanese version or the English version) you may not have any clue as to what I am talking about. Suggestion—go to your local bookstore and find your Graphic Novel section. Read the second Yu-Gi-Oh Manga (That's Yu-Gi-Oh—not Yu-Gi-Oh Duelist or Yu-Gi-Oh Millennium World—if this confuses you still, the books with the yellow numbers, okay?) and just enjoy yourself—than you will understand this fiction much better.

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**Disclaimer: **I most certainly _do not _own Yu-Gi-Oh—if I did, then Shizuka would marry Kaiba and Bandit Keith would die in the anime, too. (Pegasus killed him in the manga, just FYI)

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**Plot:** After being defeated by Mutou Yuugi in the Magic and Wizards card game, Kaiba Seto will go at any lengths to get revenge on him and his friends. However, when Jounouchi's little sister Shizuka enters the picture, how will that work to Kaiba's advantage? Nonetheless, the abduction of Shizuka is merely an "upgrade" for his ultimate plan for vengeance. Or rather, the _Ultimate Game._

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**Genre: **Romance/Angst/Drama/Suspense

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**Pairing(s):**

Seto/Shizuka

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**Warning:** T (PG-13) (Parent Guidance Suggested) For Scary Scenes, Cursing and Mild Sensuality

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-_Imperfect __Paradise__ (Yamiko)_

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To Freeze Her Heart  
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By Imperfect Paradise

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**-Chapter Two-  
**"Tenacious Desire"

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Seto Kaiba sat in class, nose in his book, looking as though his deepest interest had been caught. Although it appeared that way, that was not the case… 

Other things were circulating within his mind—Homer and his Philosophy was powerless to catch his attention, even as their pages lay pressed against his face. His thoughts—all of them—revolved particularly around the category of memory. The memory of what had happened only the week before.

Yuugi had brought his duel monster deck to school once again and was battling Jounouchi, just as they would do on any normal occasion. Kaiba found himself watching it and even enjoying it. Enjoying if for the mere stupidity of their decks and mentally criticizing the experience of the duelists within his core of intellect.

However, he had misjudged the experience of the players completely. Although Jounouchi Katsuya remained a pathetic duelist (and he always would in Kaiba's eyes) the fact remained that Mutou Yuugi had defeated him, and that had brought Kaiba down a few levels. That thought angered him deeply. He snarled as his grip tightened around his already slightly damaged book. No one defeated Kaiba Seto! No one—how dare that stupid boy—

Then, the memory of the actual duel came flooding back into him, and the blood disappearing from this cheeks.

That duel had struck fear into his heart. How could he have possibly known that Yuugi was capable of something like that? Those powers he possessed… It was inhuman! Impossible! Strange…

_How_ did he do it?

Even now, the nightmare wouldn't go away. It haunted him every night in his sleep.

After the duel, he remembered being shrouded in mist, not being able to see anything in front of him… but then… he found himself staring into a pair of blood red eyes. In addition, not just a single pair—but many. He had been completely petrified, Yuugi watching in the background with something close to amusement in his eyes. He had felt bone crushing tentacles coil themselves around his body, nearly choking him, and then, flinging him up into the air. He hovered for a moment, and then fell, watching as he found himself falling into a pair of jaws, each surrounded by razor sharp teeth and a reptilian tongue moving from side to side, anticipating his entry. Then, just as the jaws closed in around him, all went dark. After what had seemed like hours of agony, he then found himself waking up in a hospital room, screaming at the top of his lungs, causing the nurse to pull out the IV cord from his arm as she jumped in fear.

After the nurse had been removed, he found himself surrounded by doctors, who began to plague him with all sorts of questions that Kaiba could not answer. This was so for he was still screaming at the top of his lungs. It had in fact taken him quite awhile to get adjusted with reality once again, but now he was back—but still shaken from his strange, dreamlike event.

He stared down at his book (finally realizing that the book was written in English), and then out into open space pondering over something.

No one, in all his gaming history, had _ever _defeated him—nevertheless had _punished _him after his defeat. Heh, defeat was bad enough—but to punish him for it? That imbecile did not realize what he had done…

He narrowed his eyes. He had decided, back when he was ascending the steps of greatness, that if anyone defeated him, he would go back and give him the Magic and Wizards beating of his life. His eyes then narrowed to the point where they looked like slits. He bared his teeth, something obviously irking the young man.

However, even if he did just "defeat" him, it wouldn't be the same. Not by a long shot. Nothing could be worse than experiencing "Death"—and Kaiba couldn't give him something like that! How the hell was he _supposed_ to? He wasn't Yuugi—and god only knows how that moron could pull something off like that? It was just crazy…

His grip tightened on the magazine even more, coming to recognize the one thing he wanted more than ever but didn't _know _how to get. Man of man, how he wanted Yuugi to feel his pain—to understand the hell he had placed him under. To loose at his hands and regret ever going up against him. He smirked. He would see him beg… squirm… _die… _But how to do it?

Quickly coming to a decision, he abruptly slammed his book shut, causing the students next to him to jump in their seats in response to the sound,. As if that wasn't enough, he slammed both his fists on his desk and steadily rose from his chair, getting Jounouchi's attention in a negative way.

Jounouchi jumped (just as the other students had) and aggressively turned towards the furious boy, grabbing the back of his chair for support. He glared at him and hissed, "Hey man, what the hell's your problem!"

Kaiba snapped his gaze over towards the blonde haired boy and narrowed his eyes. This alone caused Jounouchi to squeak and back away. Kaiba saw this and smirked. Why not toy with him? It could be a great source of amusement. He then asked (his eyes locked into his) with phony politeness laced within his words, "How is your sister, Jounouchi-kun?"

Jounouchi heard this and paused for a moment, the memories of what had happened during the course of the last two weeks found themselves settling back into the center of his attention. He clenched his hands tightly on the edge of his chair and snarled, "You sick bastard… You stay away from her, you hear me? The last thing she needs is an insomniac vampire in her life! Got that—you stuck-up asshole?"

Kaiba just stared at him. He then closed his eyes and sighed, "I'll keep that in mind…" With that, he reached for his briefcase (Honda and Jounouchi immediately backing away from it) and began to walk over towards the exit of the classroom. The teacher (who was grading tests) didn't even bother to stop him. She knew very well that Kaiba ran a company, which was more than just his pride and joy. It was best to just let the kid go…

Besides… She couldn't begin to fathom what would happen to her if she held him back. Dear god…

* * *

Kaiba casually walked out of the door and let it close naturally behind him. He continued down the hallways, his thoughts having not changed. He was determined to find a way to make Yuugi feel pain. Kaiba Corporation would find a way—in this mind, there was no doubt about it. He smirked as he thought, 'Gozaburo, your company will _finally_ come through for me. I hope you are watching this from your looser grave, I will continue on my road to victory, leaving you in the dust once and for all—' 

His thoughts were interrupted when he bumped into someone, knocking away his train of thought. He stared down at the kid and narrowed his eyes, but then, they widened a bit, registering who it was he had bumped into. Seconds later, a smirk slithered upon his otherwise handsome features. This expression (one he had commonly used while on the campus) was enough to throw any student into the bowels pure terror, however, the girl (this certain auburn haired, half blind girl) would have been unable to see it.

Shizuka turned over towards his direction (unable to see exactly who he was) and quickly apologized, by bowing her head slightly, "I am so sorry, I didn't see you there."

Kaiba didn't say anything at first—this was just too sweet. Shizuka took this the wrong way and continued on, trying to explain her case, "Look, I know this sounds stupid and all—but it's the truth… You see, I have this problem and I—"

Shizuka was interrupted when the person she was talking to began to chuckle, a dark cocky chuckle that sparked memories within her head. She stopped talking instantly and her eyes widened, recognizing that chuckle from the other week and the color vanished from her slightly flushed cheeks. She then tried to back away, but found herself backed up into the edge of a bathroom wall. Kaiba stopped, chuckled and shook his head, almost pitying the poor, helpless girl and took a step forward. He chuckled, "Well, Kawai Shizuka… we meet again."

Shizuka didn't say anything, she was literally shaking in fear, and Kaiba continued to approach her. Shizuka stood there for a moment longer, before she bowed her head once again, even lower this time (so low that the hair flipped below her) as she pleaded, "I am sorry! I won't do it again! I swear…"

Kaiba's smirk evolved into a grin, absolutely loving the fact on how vulnerable this girl was. It was wonderful having this much power (he had learned to love this feeling at an early age), but something about this situation gave him much more pleasure. He then pinned his hands to the edges of the wall around her, preventing any hope of retreat for poor Shizuka. He then leaned forward and spoke, "Oh… Is that so? I would hope so… after all…" he reached for one of her auburn locks and continued, "It wouldn't be smart to become an annoying nuisance like your brother in my presence, now would it?"

Shizuka's eyes released some tears, as they slightly narrowed. She spoke matter-of-factly (trying to hide her stutter), "Don't …talk… about my brother like… that…"

Kaiba heard this and the smug look vanished from his face. His eyes narrowed, as annoyance coursed through his body. This girl, as vulnerable as she was, still had a little bit of a temper. He chuckled and pulled away from the walls and turned ninety degrees to the left. He placed his hands on his hips as he responded, "You sound as if you are trying to threaten me—" He then spun around and slammed his hands back against the wall, causing Shizuka to cry out. Kaiba grasped her chin again, just as he had done before and tightened his hold on it. He stared deep into her honey-colored eyes with his glacier cold blue ones and hissed in her face, "That is never a very good idea, sweet-heart. No one threatens me. No one! You know why?" Shizuka was whimpering with fear. Kaiba hissed, (and tightened his hold, causing Shizuka to cry a bit), "Answer me…"

Shizuka sniffed a bit and asked, "Why is that?"

Kaiba stared at her and smirked, "Because I am never intimidated by anything…" At that moment, the memory of the duel coursed through his mind, but he immediately shunned it from his mind. "So, do yourself and myself a favor, Shizuka-Chan… Stay out of my way…" He then loosened his hold a bit, watching as Shizuka squinted her eyes, her head hanging down, shaking with fear. He hissed and pulled her face back up, "Unless," he smirked, but then realized that Shizuka still had her eyes sewn shut. He tightened his grip and snarled, "Look at me, you wretched little brat…" Shizuka tried her best to look straight at him, hoping to god that she was looking at him in the eye.

Kaiba smirked, obviously more than pleased with her results. He then leaned closer to her and continued, "Unless… You'd _like_ to get acquainted with me…" With that, he swooped down and pressed his lips against hers, claiming them for his own. Shizuka's eyes shot open, realizing what he was doing. 'Oh god…' she thought. Kaiba's lips moved around hers, pushing and pulling to his desire. His kiss was forceful and demanding, and Shizuka couldn't do anything to stop him. After a few seconds, he pulled away, causing Shizuka to cry out a bit. Shizuka couldn't help the tears that came down her eyes. Her first kiss… gone… just like that… Kaiba smiled triumphantly, before he leaned down once again and spoke in her ear, "You better not mention a word of this to your brother. After all, it isn't smart to play with fire…"

With that, he released Shizuka and casually began to walk down the hallway, eventually shielding himself from her petrified gaze as he turned the corner. Shizuka remained there for a while longer, shaking and trembling with fear, trying to take into account what had just happened. Her trembling fingertips touched the edges of her slightly wet lips, and remained there for a just a while longer.

* * *

(one week later)

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"Kaiba-sama, we have found the second of the Blue Eyes White Dragon cards."

"Where?"

"In Hong Kong, sir—"

"Excellent!"

"—however, as you predicted… Just like the guy from Manhattan, the owner won't hand it over."

Kaiba heard this and growled softly. 'Another stubborn fool,' he thought to himself. He reached upwards and rubbed his temples, pondering for a moment.

Damn, this was beginning to grow rather irritating. Beyond it, actually. What was with these people and their precious cards?

He had managed to bag the card that was in New York City and add it to his deck. It had required extreme force. No matter how much of a price he offered, or how much he threatened him, the man would simply not hand it over. So, he decided to take more drastic measures. So, he had hacked into the imbecile's bank account and invested into several companies, all which were well reaching the end of their demise. In no time flat, the man had lost all of his money. The man had no choice but to accept Kaiba's offer. However, shortly afterwards, (Kaiba smirked) the man had taken a cab to the empire state building, went up to the elevator until he got to the very top and took the leap.

Kaiba closed his eyes and smiled slightly. He felt no remorse whatsoever…

_All right, I may have lost my duel against you Seto, but burn this into your brain: This is what a looser deserves! Hahahahahahaha! _

He opened his eyes and thought, 'It was only natural—no one can stand the shame of defeat—perhaps that was best for him…No matter, in the end, no one will stand against my success…'' He turned towards his advisor and asked, "What part of Hong Kong?"

"East of Lantau island, sir…"

Kaiba smirked and turned his swivel chair towards the window. He folded his arms across his chest and spoke, "Contact the mafia of the owner's area… tell them that I will offer them a large sum of money if they can take this man out…"

The man jumped a bit from this idea and spoke, "Sir! You c-c-can't be serious!"

Kaiba muttered (not bothering to even turn to look at him), "Cruelty and illegal activities is an asset at Kaiba Corporation—you know that… Now set up the negotiations," he snapped his gaze towards him and hissed, "or you will find yourself out the door without a job…"

The man hesitated for a bit, wondering what was going through his bosses mind. However, in time, he eventually bowed and replied, mechanically "Yes sir," and formally walked away, ready to perform the duties…

"However!" The, employee heard this and stopped, dead in his tracks. He gulped and slowly turned around. He asked, nervously, "Yes?"

Kaiba smirked as he entwined his fingers together. He commanded, sadistically, "Don't tell them we belong at Kaiba Corporation—the last thing I want is a power struggle."

The man bowed his head, once again and this time, nearly sprinted out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

After he had gone, Kaiba sighed and spoke in the company of only himself, "I should just fire him now…" His gaze then shifted to the door as the second of his advisors appeared. The man stepped inside, bowed deeply and reported to him, "Part A of the main project has been completed sir…"

Kaiba smirked and commented, "Excellent…" He stood up out of his chair and asked, "Have we tested the machine yet?"

The man replied, "No sir… We have no volunteers."

Kaiba smirked, and leaned slightly forward, placing his hands against his desk. He drawled, "I am pleased then… our company is in the hands of smart employees. After all, I have no time in the world to even converse with the common fool." He then turned away and commanded, arrogantly, "Find someone off the street of plug him into the machine. I am growing rather impatient…"

The man's jaw dropped a bit, in shock of what his superior ordered, and remained this way until Seto spoke again. He turned towards him and narrowed his eyes, "Unless… You'd rather not, and be hooked up to the machine yourself…" The man immediately bowed his head and spoke, "I understand sir!" With that, he turned around and sprinted for the door, causing Kaiba to snarl a bit. When the sound of his thundering footsteps disappeared, Kaiba smirked and walked over towards the window. He looked down below and wondered who would be his victim. His eyes then widened when he saw someone very familiar walking down the street, the distance between the figure and Kaiba Corporation growing ever so smaller.

He smirked, his eyes glinting maliciously, "Well, well, well… What have we here?"

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- TO BE CONTINUED -

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**Random Note: **You know, I would really, _really_ like some feedback here… 


	4. Chapter 3: Deadly Confusion

**Disclaimer: **Don't own anything. We have been over this, people…

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**Plot:** After being defeated by Mutou Yuugi in the Magic and Wizards card game, Kaiba Seto will go at any lengths to get revenge on him and his friends. However, when Jounouchi's little sister Shizuka enters the picture, how will that work to Kaiba's advantage? Nonetheless, the abduction of Shizuka is merely an "upgrade" for his ultimate plan for vengeance. Or rather, the _Ultimate Game._

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**Genre: **Romance/Angst/Drama/Suspense

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**Pairing(s):**

Seto/Shizuka

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**Warning:** T (PG-13) (Parent Guidance Suggested) For Scary Scenes, Cursing and Mild Sensuality

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-_Imperfect __Paradise__ (Yamiko)_

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To Freeze Her Heart  
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By Imperfect Paradise

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**-Chapter Three-  
**"Deadly Confusion"

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The sinister cobalt blue eyes seemed to smirk as they observed the figure down below. This certain, 'auburn haired' figure just (unfortunately enough—for her) happened to cross the street over to Kaiba corporation below, unaware of what was going to happen to her. The grin on his face widened, revealing his molars. His sneer would have sent any employee, who might have been unfortunate enough to enter the room at that particular time, running as fast as he could in the opposite direction. The diabolical expression on Kaiba's face was laced with pure insanity. The top of his face was covered in shadow, only showing his ice-cold eyes, which looked the equivalent of the eyes of Beelzebub himself. 

He chuckled as he touched the window with his slender fingers, "Come to me, my prey… my… Shizuka…"

* * *

Down below, Kawai Shizuka was unaware of what was about to happen to her. It would be a mistake that would cost her practically everything. She would be unable to prevent because she was, in the meantime, she was trying to correct a mistake of her own.

Earlier that day, she had walked to the mall with her brother, Honda and Anzu. Yuugi would have come under normal circumstances, but his grandfather had hurt his back after running over to welcome a twenty year old girl into the store **(A/N 1) **(it was the second time that week) and he had to watch the store for a while. The mall was somewhat fun—but there were some things that lessened the pleasure or simply just agitated her. After rejecting Honda's offer of buying her countless things which had caught her fantasy, after listening to Jounouchi gorge himself with food from all the food-stands with a disgruntled Anzu paying for them shortly afterwards (things on Earth are just not free)—Shizuka had hoped to get away for some quiet time. At first, she had just hoped to walk away to a corner and remain there for a while—but Jounouchi, Anzu and Honda must have walked off without her, leaving her alone.

Now, here was Shizuka, blindly searching the city—hoping of catching any familiar voice that might belong to her brother and his friends. Although her sense of smell and hearing were beyond perfect—she wasn't catching any familiar sound or scent. This was so, because the air pollution, the stray gas and oil, and the smells of hundreds of people were interfering with her scent. Also, the noises, such as honking car horns, bicycle bells and skidding motorcycles were blocking her sense of hearing as well. In addition, her sight was beyond terrible—it was as if everything she was staring at was a mirage.

She couldn't and didn't want to reach her hands out—because she didn't want to look too vulnerable in this city. It would attract too much unwanted attention. She was quite aware of the crime status in this city and it frightened her. She had already heard a siren sound twice. She was blind to almost everything, including the two men that were waiting for her underneath the tall and slender shadow of the Kaiba Corporation building.

The second she was parallel with the doorway to the lobby of Kaiba Corporation—was the second she was grabbed by two pairs of large hands. She barely had a chance to even 'think' about retaliating. One hand wrapped around her mouth, the other around her eyes (which was pretty much worthless), and the other two clasped themselves against her shoulders. Shizuka felt her heart jump and screamed into the hands upon her lips. However, all that came out was a muffled 'mmphh' sound—which was beyond useless when it came to help.

On the other side of a street, a cop (who was eyeing a car strangely) saw this and narrowed his eyes. He was about to walk over there when he noticed the building the poor redhead was being dragged into. For the second he saw the K.C. that was printed on the roof of the building, his eyes widened and he cowardly stepped away and went back to writing the ticket for the car, which was parked halfway on the sidewalk.

* * *

Kaiba walked down the hallways of Kaiba Corporations, with two guards following directly behind him. His silver briefcase swung back and forth, as he took large, swift and formal steps. He smirked. His machine was finally ready. Now all he had to do was to test out its _penalty game_. In his hand, he held his silver briefcase, which contained all of his beloved cards. It contained some of the most powerful cards in the game—no card was beyond his reach. This was so, for he now had a card, which would win it for him. His deck, was now equipped with one of the four Blue Eyes White Dragon cards. Yes, only one—but it was enough power to go up against Yuugi evenly matched. In a matter of time, he would acquire all of them. The negotiations with the Hong Kong Mafia had been acknowledged and the evil crime organization was already enclosing in on the victim. He narrowed his eyes. That bastard boy, Mutou Yuugi, would pay. As the time ticked by, the countdown for his defeat was slowly decreasing. 'Yuugi, you will pay for that humiliating defeat you had graciously handed over to me. I will make you regret every card you had countered against me. That is a certainty…'

His smirk slowly evolved into a grin as another thought occurred to him. 'and so will his friends. Heh, I'll destroy that 'friendship' within an instant.'

That was true. Once Jounouchi got wind that his sister was in his possession, he would immediately blame Yuugi for her disappearance. After all, it seemed logical that Yuugi was the one who had gotten him and her into this mess. Kaiba couldn't wait to see the looks on their faces.

He stopped at the two metal doors at the very end of the hallway. He cocked his head towards one of his guards, who nodded once, before walking over to it and pressing his hand against it, pushing it completely open. Once the three of them stepped inside, his eyes sparkled with delight. He loved what he was seeing. Other than the dozen scientists and engineers, all in which were at his command—his _grand_ prize stood in the center of the room.

From first glance, it looked like an ordinary closet like box—but it wasn't. It was a box forged with bullet proof glass, with measurements of nine by eight by eight. Inside, stood what looked like an ordinary table; its top forged with a clear plastic material accompanied by strange markings which had been carved into it. Around the glass box were several cords and pipes, sticking out in several places, which were completely necessary to transmit the power needed to start the unusual contraption.

Scientists and engineers rushed around the room, carrying several tools or clipboards, while some stood around, calculating the measurements and total project outcome. However, once they had gotten wind of the young CEO's entrance, they all froze and the room was silent. No one spoke in the room, it had become dead quiet.

Kaiba smirked, though inside, he was wallowing in the pleasure of his success. It was perfect! His money had been well spent. He had spent millions upon millions of yen on this project alone. However, as expensive as that was, he also had money going into something else as well. That project, on the other hand, was top-secret, and only he and his close associates knew about it. However, he allowed a few rumors to go out into the city—but basically, those rumors had been nothing more than false information.

Kaiba smirked before walking up to the chief engineer and asked (or drawled), "I have gotten wind of the project's completion… Is what I have heard correct? Do enlighten me…"

The Chief gulped (trying at once to get rid of anything that might show fear in his answer) before speaking quietly, "That is correct, Mr. Kaiba."

Kaiba smirked, "That's nice…" He was about to walk away when the Chief Engineer spoke again.

"However, the show you put in afterwards, or the, um… "penalty game" as you call it—I am sorry to say that it is extremely advanced and may not be suitable for human—"

Kaiba rolled his eyes before he turned back towards the fool and snarled, "I didn't ask for your opinion, you mumbling idiot, I simply asked if the machine is done—(his gaze softened a bit—but only just) and now that you have answered that, my business with you is finished." He then continued to walk towards the machine and spoke, "Now… all we need to do is test it…"

The engineer heard this and asked (hesitantly), "And just 'who' are you planning to test this machine _on?"_

Kaiba simply smirked. At that second, the doors burst open as the two guards emerged, dragging a balling and wailing Shizuka—who had given up on trying to fight back. The engineer's eyes widened when he saw this, understanding almost instantly. Kaiba then turned back towards him (his eyes gleaming with a lust for destruction) and asked, "What do you think?"

The engineer then blew a fuse and screeched, both petrified and outraged with the thought and concept, "You're testing that _horrid_ machine of yours on a mere _child!"_

Kaiba chuckled and walked away. The engineer's shocked gaze never left him, his mouth opened and closed continuously, lost for words.

Inside, Kaiba smirked. He thought, 'Fool, completely unaware of what is going to happen.' Kaiba then walked up towards the two guards and commented (sadistically), "Well done, gentlemen, it seems that you have completely your task with not much difficulty."

Shizuka heard this and looked over towards the direction of the voice. She knew that voice! Her eyes then narrowed and she cried out furiously, "Kaiba! Why are you—"

However, before he could continue, one of the guards tightened his hold on the poor redhead, who cried out, tears almost falling from her eyes. She instantly lost her aggressive will and returned to her vulnerable child air. The guard snarled, "That's Kaiba-sama, to you, missy..."

Kaiba chuckled vindictively before he spoke, coldly but softly, "Gentleman… That is no way to treat a lady…" He grinned after he said that (for in reality—he didn't give a damn if they hurt her or not), before slowly walking up towards Shizuka. Shizuka was whimpering slightly, afraid of what was going to happen to her. She cringed when she felt Kaiba's fingers wrap themselves around her chin. He lightly stroked them, and leaned down closer towards the girl. ' He smirked as he saw the tears finally fall from her eyes, amused with the pain and fear he was causing her. His smirk widened as he thought, 'Yes… Fear… Fear for what is going to happen to you… However, (He then grinned) it won't be what everyone expects.'

And that was true. What he said next would come as a greater shock to everyone in the room than what they had ever had expected to witness coming their superior.

He then leaned down and whispered into her ear. "Don't worry, Shizuka-darling… (He wiped a single tear away from her eye with the tip of his finger) I am not going to plug you into that machine." Everyone's jaw dropped or at least everyone's eyes widened. He said, softly, "I have changed my mind, you are not going to be my experimental subject." He then leaned closer and spoke, "Even like the mouse you are..."

While everyone else stood flabbergasted and what just happened, the engineer heard this and let out a sigh. He didn't know what in the world had caused Kaiba to change his mind—but that didn't matter. The youth was safe. However, although things can change for the good, things can change for the bad as well—this was a lesson that the engineer was going to learn very shortly.

Kaiba eye's then snapped open and turned towards the engineer. He snapped at the guards, _"Seize him!"_ With that, the guards grabbed the engineer by the upper arms. The engineer struggled (although, his efforts were futile) and cried out_, "Kaiba Seto! What is the meaning of this?"_  
Kaiba turned towards him and sighed, "Since you are so reluctant to allow this girl to get hurt—I figured you would be a better subject." He smiled and said, "The creator of the guillotine in the French revolution had his head cut off shortly after the massacre of the political party of the country." He then chuckled, "Rejoice—you are the test-subject of your _own_ work." He then turned away back towards the girl and spoke (not bothering to face the guards), "Lock him in the machine—I am growing rather impatient with the delay…" His chuckle then abruptly evolved into insane laughter as he watched the poor man being dragged towards the instrument of his demise. The engineer tried punching the men off of him, but this earned him a punch in the stomach, instantly stunning him.

Shizuka was scared stiff witnessing what exactly was happening, but then shrieked as she felt someone grab her. Indeed, Kaiba had grabbed Shizuka by the arm and he forcefully pulled her away from the guards. He held her up against him for a moment, before he began to drag her away. He sighed, "I am sorry to get you into this, Shizuka-Chan. Nevertheless, a blind girl is just no good to test out my new project…" He then smirked, "So… By way of apology, you get special reserved seats for witnessing the full power of my penalty game." As he dragged her away, he sighed, "Well, at least you will be able to hear it…"

Shizuka stammered, her voice almost gone, "What kind of penalty game?"

Kaiba smirked before he leaned down towards her ear and said softly.

"The penalty game of death," he spoke. He then sadistically smirked as Shizuka's hair stood on end.

* * *

- TO BE CONTINUED -

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The following is _not_ meant to be counter fanfictionDOTnet format. These are merely author notes. They are not meant to counteract the rules or restrictions of the webmaster's policies in anyway. Thank you for your attention.

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**Author Note 1 – **Yes, in the manga, Yuugi's grandfather is a perverted old man. He is also like that in the Japanese anime. In the manga, he asked Anzu, "You have grown since I saw you last time, Anzu; especially your bust! Almost to the thirty two mark, right?" And in the anime, when he saw Otogi's cheerleaders, he started drooling over them. He also did that to Vivian Wong in the KC Grand Prix (not debuted in USA)—he even called her Vivie-chan! OMG!


	5. Chapter 4: Severe Predicament

**Author Note:** I know—I have been on writers block for the past couple months. (Imitates Pegasus) Ah so desu ka? Sorry! (Ducks angry blows—then continues as if nothing happened) I don't know if this chapter is going to be any good. Well, anyway, Mokuba will debut in the next chapter, or, as I call him, the Midget from Hell. Shizuka will meet him in the future, and let me promise you something: there is absolutely 'no' fluff. In addition, the start of this chapter may be horrifying for children who are under the age of eleven. Therefore, those who are immature, telling their parents that the teenage population has gone to far, saying that they are jeopardizing the children's show, just leave. If you think that Yu-Gi-Oh is a mere children's show, then you are severely mistaken. I have no time for imbeciles such as yourselves who don't even know about half of what 'true' Yu-Gi-Oh is. I would be nicer, but my horse bucked me off, so I am in a really fowl mood. I landed on top of jump equipment, and fortunately enough, I was miraculously okay—but that doesn't mean I am the happiest person in the world right now. Domo Arigatoo…

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**Announcement: **Shizuka has already (somewhat) witnessed the death of the engineer, which increases her fear of Kaiba. Also, Mokuba was defeated by Yuugi in capsule monster chess about five minutes ago. You will get hints on that shortly.

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**Disclaimer: **I do not own anything.

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**Plot:** After being defeated by Mutou Yuugi in the Magic and Wizards card game, Kaiba Seto will go at any lengths to get revenge on him and his friends. However, when Jounouchi's little sister Shizuka enters the picture, how will that work to Kaiba's advantage? Nonetheless, the abduction of Shizuka is merely an "upgrade" for his ultimate plan for vengeance. Or rather, the _Ultimate Game._

* * *

**Genre: **Romance/Angst/Drama/Suspense

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**Pairing(s):**

Seto/Shizuka

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**Warning:** T (PG-13) (Parent Guidance Suggested) For Scary Scenes, Cursing and Mild Sensuality

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-_Imperfect __Paradise__ (Yamiko)_

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To Freeze Her Heart  
-  
By Imperfect Paradise

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**-Chapter Four-  
**"Severe Predicament"

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"Alright get him out of here…" 

"Remember, the guy died of a heart attack _at his desk_—okay? Received a mysterious phone-call and got freaked out."

"Are you sure that's convincing enough?"

"Kaiba-sama is the one who thought of it. Want to ask him that?"

"Oh! Ah— Well—that's convincing enough for me, then…"

With that, two of Kaiba's men reached into the glass-cubical like machine, and pulled out the Engineer, whose face was now and would always remain paralyzed with fear. His eyes had rolled into the back of his head and his mouth was open, a sliver of saliva leaking out from the crack from the left side of his lips.

As Kaiba sat down before the machine, looking quite delighted with himself, Shizuka sat there, her eyes wide, shaking in fear. Although she didn't see exactly what had happened (How could she? But in any case, she was very glad that she didn't) she had indeed _heard_ everything… The screams of the man, the pounding of his fists against the glass, the gagging and gurgling noises due to that of his heart attack—accompanied by many other… _sounds_. Sounds that were so horrid and terrifying, that she wished she had completely covered her ears and never heard them in the first-place. To be completely concealed by the darkness…

After hearing the sounds of sniffles and timid whimpering, Kaiba turned to the left and smirked at his work. He regarded Shizuka's pale skin and her clouded eyes and did little more than chuckle. Upon hearing the chuckling voice, Shizuka jumped in shock, forgetting that Kaiba had, in fact, been sitting right next to her throughout this whole time. Things grew worse for her as Kaiba leaned closer to her form and whispered into her ear, "Wasn't that a treat, Shizuka-Chan?"

Shizuka answered with little more than a whisper, tears falling out from her eyes, "H-How… How could you do that…?"

Kaiba heard this and narrowed his eyes again, then remained silent for a moment. Shizuka, hearing the sustained silence from Kaiba, instantly shrunk away in her chair, knowing that she had annoyed Kaiba in some sort of way. Kaiba saw this and chuckled, saying softly (which only terrorized Shizuka more), "Don't worry—I am not angry at you, Shizuka-dearest…" He inhaled deeply, and instantly found himself smelling the sweet conditioner and shampoo fragments of her hair. For some strange and unusual reason, he found the strangest desire to stroke those beautiful fire like locks (it was tempting enough to do so)—but that wasn't on his agenda at the moment.

His thoughts were interrupted when Shizuka opened her mouth—obviously about to say something—but then she stopped. Kaiba took notice of this and raised his eyebrows. Shizuka immediately looked back off into empty space again, deciding against her previous motives. Kaiba smirked and leaned down close to her ear again and asked, "Do you have something to 'say', Shizuka-Chan?"

Shizuka, her face completely soaked with her tears, whimpered, "C-Can… I… go h-h-home n-now?"

A small silence followed. As it did, Kaiba's smirk widened to a critical amount, turning itself into a sinister grin that would have even sent a crocodile running away for dear life. He then put on a sigh and spoke, wrapping at arm around her shoulder, "Shizuka… Shizuka… I just let you witness the miraculous function of my wonderful invention. It hasn't even been mentioned to the media yet—and it hasn't been used for its proper purpose." Shizuka heard this and her hair stood on end. He then leaned even closer to her and said something that put Shizuka in pure mental trauma: "I can't let you out of here after seeing it—especially before Yuugi and his friends get wind of it. It would ruin the experience for them…"

When Shizuka heard this, her heart nearly stopped. For a moment, her mind blanked out, Kaibas words echoing through her head.

What Kaiba said meant only one thing. He was going to test it on her brother's friend—also! If he meant what she thought she had thought he had meant—Yuugi wasn't the only one he was planning to use it on, either. By saying his friends, that meant Anzu, Honda and—

Her color then vanished completely, leaving a very, nearly bone-white Shizuka.

'Onii-chan.'

Kaiba was going to kill him! He was going to kill all of them!

At that moment, her fear and timid nature was instantly replaced by hysterical insanity that could not be contained by anyone, let alone herself. She sprung from her chair in order to sprint to the nearest exit—but Kaiba did the same and in quicker time. He seized Shizuka by the shoulders and held her firmly, Shizuka constantly squirming within his grip. He then spun her around, so she was facing him, his grip tightening on her upper arms, securing her. Shizuka was crying freely now, tears falling from her eyes, and while in the midst, screaming at the top of her lungs, "LET ME GO! I WON'T LET YOU DO THIS! I WON'T! ONII-CHAN!"

She tried to break free from Kaiba, but his grip was iron clad, and only continued to further constrict upon her. In time her struggles died down, and she started sobbing; knowing that the worst (if at all possible, considering what she had just witnessed) was yet to come.

Kaiba did little more than laugh at this—clearly enjoying what he was seeing. Shizuka's antics amused him until no end. Shizuka tried to jerk away, almost succeeding before Kaiba suddenly snarled and tightened his grip on her to a critical amount and in double time. Shizuka had to do all she could to sustain a cry in pain—even though the pain was excruciating. Then, as in a fast motion, Kaiba flung her away from him, Shizuka landing on the floor. She cried out again, the intense charges of her nervous system coursing through her body like electrical shocks. She then heard the sound of three different sets of footsteps approaching her; one from the front—and two from behind. Someone was moving towards her—and at a fast pace.

Before she had the chance to even 'think' about running away, she felt arms grip her body, just as they had done earlier that day, pulling her up. She was once again forced her back onto her feet—and had been turned around to face the monster: Kaiba.

Kaiba stared at Shizuka's helpless form and chuckled evilly at the site being perfectly displayed before him. He asked, with a mocking tone in his voice, "What happened to your courage, little girl? Were could it have gone?" He laughed again as Shizuka tried to struggle, but all it did was earn her the privilege of having her 'companions' tighten their grip on her to the point where it would surely leave bruises.

Kaiba then let out a phony sigh and looked out into open space. He pondered aloud, "But what to do with you… What to do…" He then turned away from them for a moment, closed his eyes, looking as though he was deciding on what to do next. After a moment, his cerulean eyes opened sharply and he turned around to face them once more. He then emotionlessly commanded, "Lock her up in the vacant room on the fourth floor—and make sure she stays there. I don't have the time nor the patience to look for a fugitive."

The guards nodded their heads, (one of them mindlessly answering, 'Sir sir…' )and with that, began to drag the crying Shizuka away. Shizuka tried jerking away again but after several attempts, failed to pull free.

As Kaiba watched this scene (feeling quite pleased with himself), smirking ruefully, he felt suddenly felt something odd course through his body.

Something that made him shiver—however, this time, it wasn't out of mere and disgusting pleasure. This time, it was out of… revulsion. It was… as if—he felt something akin to pity for the poor girl whom in which had been caught within his dangerous grasp. For some unusual reason—Kaiba didn't like what he was seeing. On any normal occasion, something like this would give him pleasure… pride… a sense of high authority… and he loved experiencing these emotions and their companions… yet… all he felt was pain.

Once Shizuka was out of view, his normal day to day policies returned to him. He began to walk back towards his office—leaving all doubts and thoughts of the enigma behind him. As he did, he felt something vibrate against his side. He sighed, reached for his cell-phone and effortlessly picked it up. He muttered, "Kaiba…"

After a moment of silence (for anyone who happened to be watching) his eyebrows twitched for a brief moment, before they narrowed again as he asked, "Mokuba? What about him?"

After another sustained silence, his eyes widened as the phone dropped to ground before him, breaking into several pieces instantly upon impact.

* * *

The room was completely white; the carpets were white—the walls were white—the ceiling was white—everything was white. There nothing in it but an empty room. Well, nothing except a few leather couches (which were a light gray color) and a small magazine table (painted a disgusting salmon color) propped up against the back of the farthest wall, but other than that—there was absolutely nothing. 

Shizuka was thrown into the center of the room, landing on the cold tiled floor with a thud. She cried out for yet another time that day, and then took to cringing in pain. Without even apologizing, the men who had mercilessly thrown her slammed the doors behind her, and a small clicking sound was heard—silencing Shizuka's desperate hopes. After Shizuka had sat up, she took to looking around the room.

Her eyesight was becoming worse and worse. She could barely see anything. All she could make out was white. A big, white blur with a few colors—which barely even stood out. The only thing the color did was send her the message that something was there—nothing more than that.

Tears fell from Shizuka's eyes like mildew dripping from spider-webs. However—the tears began to increase—looking as if someone had left a faucet on and it was leaking. Water flew freely from the metal—just as Shizuka's hopes were disappearing from her heart.

Her brother… Yuugi… Anzu… Honda… they were all in trouble. Death, Fanon, War and Pestilence was coming after them (quickly and swiftly)—and she couldn't do anything to help them! She shivered and looked down at the ground, reflecting on everything that had just happened within the course of that hour. They were going to die—they were all going to die—and there was absolutely nothing she could do to prevent it. Kaiba had built that machine for a reason—that horrid, gruesome and disgusting machine. She had been forced to witness its fully capable and destructive power against her will.

_I can't let you out of here after seeing it—especially before Yuugi and his friends get wind of it. It would ruin the experience for them… _

And on top of it… that boy… no… that cruel heartless monster… was going to use it on the one person she loved. Her brother.

But why? Why would he want to do that? What had her brother ever done to him? What exactly had _Yuugi _done? He seemed so nice, kind, and gentle too—how could he possibly do something that would piss Kaiba off enough so much that it would drive him to bring about his death?

She had always been alone. Her mother moved constantly, finding different jobs, taking Shizuka along with her everywhere she went. Her reasons for doing so were because of her father. She had divorced him when Shizuka was young—_very_ young. Her father had beaten them on so many occasions — giving her the image that she was alone and insignificant. Soon though, her mother had screwed up to courage to leave—and to save her children from him. She originally wanted to take her brother along too—but fate had other plans for him. For at the time of their departure, her father had miraculously received a court order from town hall, which specifically stated that she had to leave at least one of her children behind.

Shizuka, being young and fragile—Jounouchi, being strong and quick—it had been very easy to decide which one to take custody over. Both her mother and brother knew—that leaving Shizuka behind with her father possibly meant her death. And for Jounouchi—as heart breaking and as devastating as it was to him—agreed to the terms as well.

The day of the departure had been the seventh circle of hell. Shizuka would never, ever forget Jounouchi running after the car, his eyes wet with tears, streaming down his face like waterfalls, mixing with Mucous and sweat, as he tried very, very hard to catch up to them. The whole thing had been the equivalent to a catastrophic event—one that your heart would never forget due to the terror that had filled its bowels.

Shizuka shivered again, and fell to the ground, laying there, crying and sobbing. Behind the remembrance of Kaiba's diabolical laugh and the in-human cries of the engineer before he died—one word continued to reflect over and over again in Shizuka's mind.

'Onii-Chan…'

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- TO BE CONTINUED -

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**Random Note: **Man… Writer's block is so cruel! It took me _that_ long to come up with something! That long! Jesus Christ—I cannot believe I finally came up with a new chapter. Anyway, please review. Now if you will excuse me—I have to find a way to pull me out from my second case of Writer's Block—this time revolving around _Love and Lust in Ancient Egypt_. Man o' man… By the way, anyone see the Doma Episodes? Poor dear Varon, Dartz and Amelda… Their voices _SUCKED_. 


	6. Chapter 5: Anxiety and Aggression

**Author Note:** I'm in a very good mood today because I bought the Yu-Gi-Oh: The Movie DVD. Yes, we all know that it sucks—but that's the point. (Insert anime happy-face) I'm going to manipulate the footage using my beautiful computer (which unfortunately, I share with my father (grumbles) and add a hilarious subtitled commentary to it—however, it will only be for MY use (as well as my close friends) because it is illegal to show it to others. In addition, the DVD has a Spanish AND French track (dubbed in Quebec). Anyway, I listened to them in French. My comments? Different. Pegasus's voice was a little strange—mainly because it was so different (if any of you are French—my apologies—this is just my opinion) although nowhere near as weird of the portrayed version of Takasugi J. Jirou in Japan. Kaiba sounded a little like an adolescent Kimo on tour of Quebec (I'm dead serious) and Yuugi sounded like Speedy Gonzales meets Japanese Shinji from Evangelion. Anyway, news on this fiction. I'm sorry this took too long. Writers block really SUCKS! Also, I was working on my other fictions a bit. (I still have that evil and sinister cast by the way) Or—I was just lazy… I don't know which. (stares at the evil, deadly glares from her fans) Uh… Ah-heh-heh-heh-heh… Anyway… Mokuba's grand debut! (Insert anime happy face) Now, let's get on with it, shall we. (Bats her eye-lashes at her reviewers) JK! Heh-heh-heh—just read, please.  
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Are you going to read? Just making sure… Okay—I'll shut up now! (I'm serious this time)

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**Disclaimer: **Okay, I don't own didley squat. We know this, ladies and gentleman… Why keep bothering me like this? What point is there to it? I'll shut up now. Okay, I'll shut up. Yessir, I'll shut up. I'm shutting up now. Is everyone clear on that? I'm shutting up!

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**Plot:** After being defeated by Mutou Yuugi in the Magic and Wizards card game, Kaiba Seto will go at any lengths to get revenge on him and his friends. However, when Jounouchi's little sister Shizuka enters the picture, how will that work to Kaiba's advantage? Nonetheless, the abduction of Shizuka is merely an "upgrade" for his ultimate plan for vengeance. Or rather, the _Ultimate Game._

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**Genre: **Romance/Angst/Drama/Suspense

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**Pairing(s):**

Seto/Shizuka

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**Warning:** T (PG-13) (Parent Guidance Suggested) For Scary Scenes, Cursing and Mild Sensuality

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-_Imperfect __Paradise__ (Yamiko)_

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To Freeze Her Heart  
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By Imperfect Paradise

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**-Chapter Five-  
**"Anxiety and Aggression"

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The front doors of the lobby burst open as Kaiba Seto ran into the central room of Kaiba Corporation's medical facility. Upon hearing the glass doors slamming against the walls, all of the doctors turned towards the direction of the rather loud sound. The second they laid their eyes upon their adolescent superior, their faces paled to the point where it didn't look like they were alive at all. And with good reason. For Kaiba's eyes were blazing, looking as if someone had thrown gasoline into the middle of the ocean and had lit a match, lighting it to the point where danger circulated within his icy cold cobalt blue vortexes.

Looking around in all direction's for a moment, his eyes met with the nearest doctor, who looked as though he could have died right there. He grabbed the doctor by the jacket collar, (whose knees almost gave out in excessive fear of the young man), and pulled him so he was level with his eyes. As he stared into the frenzied eyes of the poor physician, Kaiba roared into his face, "WHERE'S MOKUBA?" **(A/N 1)**

The doctor squeaked out something, but did not say it loud enough, causing Kaiba to snarl. "SPEAK UP, YOU FOOL!" Kaiba roared, spit landing in the doctor's face. The doctor spoke with a little more than a whisper, pointing in one direction, "He's in medical quarters, room A-1, sir…"

Not even bothering to say anything—such as a thank you, or even a response (indeed, such actions were impossible for Kaiba to perform)—Kaiba threw the poor man on the ground and stormed off in that particular direction. As he stormed through the hallways, he bumped into a nurse, and in doing so, knocked her against the wall as he proceeded to the room where his little brother was being held. The nurse screamed in pain, but Kaiba couldn't care less. All that mattered was that he got to his little brother.

Mokuba was around the age of eleven. He was rather short for his age, but he made up for that with his—_maturity._ Like his brother, he also had a liking for games and electronics (although, he was nowhere near as obsessed as his older brother was) and was obsessed with being the best in his own particular field. Mokuba was a genius/expert at the game of Capsule Monster Chess. Although its rules were bland, even primitive compared to those of Duel Monsters—the game still proved to be very popular within Mokuba's age group.

Eventually, Kaiba reached the room where he was being held. Opening the doors with both hands (spreading them open), his eyes met up with some unwanted scenes.

There were three nurses and two doctors surrounding the poor little boy, who was screaming at the top of his lungs, hands out before him, as if he was pressing them up against an invisible wall.

Mokuba's long raven black hair, was tasseled and tattered (although, it was always like that) and his indigo, purple bluish eyes were wide and hysterical, looking as though he was on the verge of loosing his mind and soul to the dark bowels of insanity.

Shoving one of the nurses aside, (who gasped out as she was literally pushed away), Kaiba reached the bed and stared, eyes wide at the madness of his younger sibling.

Mokuba was bawling, screaming at the top of his lungs, "_I can't see! I can't see! Where am I! I can't get out! It's dark! Big brother!—Help me! I want to get out! Someone let me out!_"

Kaiba stared at him with a severe expression, watching with shock, confusion and even some form of amusement at the antics of Mokuba. With clouded eyes and with a stoned expression, he said calmly, "Mokuba…"

Mokuba suddenly looked towards the direction of his brother, with some form of rejoice and relief in his eyes. The funny thing was— he wasn't staring at his brother's face—more perhaps, his brother's 'direction.'

He said with happiness in his voice, and with relief in his eyes, "Nii-sama? Is that you? Help me! I can't get out of here!"

Kaiba narrowed his eyes and explained, "You can't leave the hospital that easily, Mokuba…"

Mokuba suddenly stopped smiling. He looked around him, confused and asked, "Hospital—I'm… I'm in a hospital?"

Kaiba hissed, "What did you think, dip-shit?"

Mokuba stared at his brother, shocked, appalled and not understanding the situation. He asked, "Then why am I only seeing darkness? I'm trapped in here, Seto! Help me!"

Kaiba snarled and snapped, "You will stop this nonsense right now—Mokuba! If you think this will help you ditch that homework of yours—think again. I thought you were in serious trouble! Listen, I came here all the way from the main office in concern for you! Instead, I meet up with this! I'm disgusted at you…"

Mokuba stared shocked towards the direction of his brother, and he cried out, "No! I'm not kidding! I'm trapped in a Capsule Monster's bubble! Can't you see that?"

Kaiba's eyes suddenly widened when he heard this. 'Capsule Monsters?' he thought. 'That's strange. Wasn't he always saying that one he day he was going to challenge Yuugi to a—'

When that name went through his mind, he stopped dead. He remained silent for several moments, understanding what had probably happened. He remembered his own awkward battle against the despised and hated tri-haired colored kid. **(A/N 2)**

_Ah… My Blue Eyes White Dragon is… Disappearing! _

_To my grandfather, that card was more than a collectible. That dragon was torn between its fate to destroy and its loyalty to Grandpa's soul. It chose to destroy itself as the only way to fulfill its duty. _

_T-That's impossible…! There's no way cards can think! _

_Now it's my turn! As you can see, I've been hiding this spell card face down... I choose to ACTIVATE IT this turn! _

_W-When did he… What is that card? _

_RESSURECTION! And the monster I chose to revive is—_**(A/N 3)**

_W-What… How could you have that card…? _

_—THE BLUE EYES WHITE DRAGON! ATTACK! BURST STREAM OF DESTRUCTION! _

_AAAGH! I LOST! _

_And now your penalty game… MIND CARD! _**(A/N 4)**

_AAAGGHH! _

Kaiba's teeth bared and his eyes narrowed. His shoulders shook violently and his hands clenched into tight fists. He looked bitterly up at his little brother, who looked slightly confused with the sudden silence coming from his older brother.

He spoke with a deadly whisper, his eyes flashing, "You… lost… to him… did you?"

Mokuba heard this and his face paled away. He then realized the extreme danger that his misuse of words had unleashed. He had spoken of his loss. After realizing this, Mokuba couldn't help but tremble in fear. All the doctors and nurses backed away from the two boys, while others just ran out of the door—not wanting to see what would happen— nevertheless be a part of it. Mokuba's hands gripped his head and he closed his eyes, as if trying to hide from the wrath of his virulent older sibling.

Kaiba, however, said, nor did anything. However—this made things only feel worse. For no words—meant that something—most likely evil, dark and twisted—was going through his brother's thoughts. This was indeed something to be afraid of.

Kaiba then turned around, and walked out of the room- not saying anything. Mokuba reached out for him but his hands stopped as if something was blocking them. He cried out, "WAIT! NII-SAMA! DON'T LEAVE ME LIKE THIS! _PLEASE!"_

Kaiba ignored him and continued to walk away from the room, leaving his little brother behind.

Vengeful thoughts were swimming through Kaiba's mind, not leaving him at peace. He smirked as he thought, 'So, Yuugi…' he thought bitterly. 'You think you can draw me into this further? No one messes with Seto Kaiba. Your triumph against my little brother hasn't hurt my pride—it has only encouraged me. Encouraged me to seal your fate and reclaim my honor! You will fall at the hands of my deck!'

With that, the smirk on his face morphed into a grin, one so diabolical and fearsome that anyone who would have laid eyes upon it would have succumbed to their fear and…

* * *

_"WHERE THE HELL DID SHE GO, DAMNIT!" _

Jounouchi was in hysterics at the disappearance of his sister and Honda and Anzu could do little to help him. And with good reason. He knew very well that Shizuka was lying about her current condition—he wasn't the complete and total jester/fool everyone made him out to be. Her eyesight was about the worst thing in the world next to rotten cheese.

Anzu hesitantly reached out for Jounouchi's shoulder, in hopes of comforting him, however he moved away from her, as if he was trying to escape her (false) encouragement. Jounouchi knew that no words could comfort him. Not right now they couldn't… His sister was missing! She couldn't have gone far in her condition—not by herself she couldn't. Not by herself. That meant only one thing! Someone had abducted her! Yes—had taken her away from him. Kidnapped her!

He pulled at his blonde hair and cried out, "DAMNIT! WHAT AM I GOING TO _DO!"_

Honda cried out, trying to be heard over Jounouchi's explosive words, "Get a grip, Jounouchi-kun! This isn't as bad as you think it is!"

Jounouchi turned towards him and cried out, thoroughly enraged after hearing Honda's words, "_ARE YOU BULL-SHITT'N ME!_ WE SEARCHED EVERYWHERE! SHE WAS _KIDNAPPED!_ THERE COULD BE NO OTHER EXPLANATION! I—I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'LL—" His voice finally cracked and broke at those words, tears beginning to fall from his eyes. His lips trembled and Anzu and Honda stared at him pitifully. Even with all his endurance, he couldn't contain his sobs as he broke into several of them. As he cried, his eyes shut tight as more tears fell from them. His shoulders shook violently and he trembled in both fear and melancholy. He grabbed his hair and screamed into the sky—showing the height of his insecurity.

Watching the sad and desperate scene, Anzu brought her hand up to her mouth and bit her lip, worried for the welfare of Jounouchi. Honda looked away form Jounouchi, as if trying to show hide the pathetic view of his friend in means of honoring and respecting him. Anzu touched Jounouchi's and said quietly and kindly, "Jounouchi—we'll get to the bottom of this—don't worry. Shizuka is going to be all—"

Jounouchi, however, ignored her and screamed again. Anzu backed away from him, almost in fear of her very own friend. God, she didn't know what to do. Honda, however, turned towards him and narrowed his eyes. He stood up straight and began to walk towards his friend. Once he stood before his sniveling companion, his eyebrows narrowed. "Jounouchi?" he asked.

Jounouchi stopped in his wailing and looked directly at his friend. His eyes were narrowed, but widened when they saw what was happening. Honda had brought his fist back, lunged it out and rammed his knuckles directly into the center of Jounouchi's face. Anzu gasped as Jounouchi fell to the ground, crying out, "Honda! What are you—"

Jounouchi fell to the ground, using his arms to break his fall. After moaning for a moment in pain, he looked up at Honda bitterly. Honda stared at him, with an expressionless face. After a moment or two, Honda held his hand out before the blonde and spoke, "Jounouchi?"

Jounouchi stared at him for a moment, not quite understanding the jist of what Honda had meant by all this. Suddenly, his eyes widened as he finally grasped the concept of his companion's words. He reached out for Honda's hand and Honda effortlessly pulled him up.

Once on his feet, he said, "Thank you, Honda…"

Honda smirked and explained, "You know very well that bawling won't get you anywhere—right, Jounouchi-kun?"

Jounouchi closed his eyes and nodded, understanding perfectly well. Honda continued, "Why worry about something when you can go out there and do something about it?"

Jounouchi grinned, "You're right…" Honda nodded once before a determined expression appeared on his face. He rubbed his hands together and declared, "Now… Let's go find Shizuka!"

Jounouchi nodded and said, "Yeah…"

Anzu pointed out, "Yuugi should be out of work by now—let's go ask him for help!"

Honda grinned and Jounouchi smiled. "I get this," he said. "We'll do this together…"

Anzu smiled, "That's right!"

With that, the trio walked away, heading off towards the Kame Turtle Shop…

* * *

As Shizuka sat in the room, quietly and alone, she suddenly jumped as she heard the door open.

Three men stepped in, and stared at the auburn haired teenager before them. They didn't' say anything. Shizuka stared in their direction, uneasily, fear coursing through her body. 'What are they going to do to me,' she thought.

Indeed, she was petrified of everything that had happened to her—and was even more so with the thought of the upcoming fate of her older brother. Then there was her own? What would become of her? What would happen to her once all was said and done?

For the length of time, no one said anything. The moment of silence passed by at a slow speed, increasing the tension. Until, at long last, one of them finally informed her, "We're here to pick you up… Missy. The young master is busy with something so he won't be here in person. We have been instructed to take you to your new residence for the time being…"

Shizuka's eyes widened. 'New residence?' she thought.

Before she could ask what they meant by that, the two other men grabbed her by her arms and began to forcefully escort her out the door. Shizuka didn't say or do anything—she was afraid to. Afraid of them. Afraid for herself—and for her brother. Afraid of what would become of this once all was said and done.

However, what she really feared the most—was that cold, ungodly, sinister voice, which would now haunt her in even her dreams…

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- TO BE CONTINUED -

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The following is _not_ meant to be counter fanfictionDOTnet format. These are merely author notes. They are not meant to counteract the rules or restrictions of the webmaster's policies in anyway. Thank you for your attention.

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**Author Note 1** – Yes, I know what some of you are thinking if you have read the manga. (For those who haven't read the manga—_don't read this note!)_ Why is Kaiba concerned when he is the one who almost puts Mokuba to his death later? Well—at this point, he doesn't realize that Mokuba was beaten by none other than Motou Yuugi. I hope that clears up some misunderstandings.

**Author Note 2** – I do not own any of the content. This is original text coming from the manga, written by Kazuki Takahashi.

**Author Note 3** – "Resurrection" is "Monster Reborn" in the USA Dub. They also look very, very different. In Japan, the card has the Egyptian Symbol of "Revive" on it, rather than that metal, fluffy… _thing_ in the USA version.

**Author Note 4** – Yup, Pegasus isn't the only one who can trap souls in cards. Yuugi did it to Kaiba too in Manga Issue number 2.


	7. Chapter 6: Shattered Hearts

**Author Note (PLEASE FOR THE "LOVE" OF "GOD"—_READ!_): **Okay, I have noticed that I am getting a lot of complaints about Shizuka and Seto's character. I am going to try to be as nice and as forward as I can be on this, so let's all try to work together, okay? However, before I start to explain my case—I want to reassure all of you, that there _will_ be 'romance' between Kaiba and Shizuka… It's going to take _time_, so please bare with me. First of all, um… Kaiba's character. I am not following the anime—_AT ALL._ This is entirely based on the "Death-T" saga in the _manga._ (_manga:_ Japanese comic books—authentic when read backwards—often the origin of many animes). In the manga, he was pure evil—if you want insight to his maliciousness, I suggest you go to your bookstore and read issues 4-5 of Yu-Gi-Oh (the manga—not the crappy American junior-novelizations) and bloody read! You won't understand this fiction if you don't read those books! Now for Shizuka's character. I regret to be the one to break this to you, um… "Serenity" fans in America—but in the original Japanese anime and manga—_Shizuka_ possessed the personality traits of shyness, gullibility, and total, child-like innocence. I understand _and_ know, that they sort of gave her an 'attitude' in America (one of the only things I truly like about their dubbing)—and in most fanfictions that you see today (like Pinkstarz's beloved With the French Maid in Kaiba's Room—god, I miss that fiction… And damn the person who reported it—lousy bastard) they often tout her as a more self-reliant, firey, "OUT-OF-CHARACTER" _Shizuka _(she's an in-character Serenity, believe me)—just as she is in America. Allow me to get my point across. This fiction is _NOT_ based on 'anything' in America. This is totally based on the _Japanese_ Shizuka—so therefore her character will be just as she was intended to be by Kazuki Takahashi himself. Once more, this is based on the _manga_—so Kaiba will be as he is intended to be in this saga as well. And no offense or anything—but if you completely rely on information from the American Yu-Gi-Oh, please don't complain to me. It only causes me to emanate 'pity' towards you for not knowing the truth about this show and comic—

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**Disclaimer:** —which I do not own.

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**Plot:** After being defeated by Mutou Yuugi in the Magic and Wizards card game, Kaiba Seto will go at any lengths to get revenge on him and his friends. However, when Jounouchi's little sister Shizuka enters the picture, how will that work to Kaiba's advantage? Nonetheless, the abduction of Shizuka is merely an "upgrade" for his ultimate plan for vengeance. Or rather, the _Ultimate Game._

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**Genre: **Romance/Angst/Drama/Suspense

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**Pairing(s):**

Seto/Shizuka

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**Warning:** T (PG-13) (Parent Guidance Suggested) For Scary Scenes, Cursing and Mild Sensuality

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-_Imperfect __Paradise__ (Yamiko)_

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To Freeze Her Heart  
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By Imperfect Paradise

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**-Chapter Six-  
**"Shattered Hearts"

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Shizuka was running through the halls of the Kaiba Manor—never stopping, never ceasing in her spring, listening to the sound of that maniac and diabolical laugh, which followed her, filling her with utmost fear. There were so many doors as she ran down the halls, so many doors—each one of them most likely leading into the dark abyss that appeared to be enclosing upon her. 

Indeed, following her, was a mist of black, with maroon, indigo and navy-blue mirage-like images emerging from the ominous energy in which it was comprised of. Every time she turned a corner, the mist would follow her directly and accurately. It was almost as if it were a sentient being—knowing and following her as if it were a hoard of ravenous beasts, snapping at her heels, enclosing upon her, ready to rip her to shreds. As it drew closer—the evil and crazy laughter seemed to become louder and louder.

She continued to run, eventually finding herself not being able to resist cocking head backwards, wanting to take a look at it. Upon doing so, she shrieked—seeing that it was even closer to her than it was the last time she had checked. She forced herself to look back directly out ahead of her again, biting her lip, trying to hold back her tears.

Why was this happening to her? What had she had done in life to receive such a sub-zero penalty? Furthermore, she couldn't help but wonder what in the world that black mist was actually. What it was made of, maybe. What was fueling it? Why it wanted her in the first place, perhaps. What value was she to the darkness? What could it possibly desire from her? What could she give it and how would it benefit from whatever she had given?

Still, she could feel the darkness of the mist gaining on her, and she ran even faster, desperate to get away.

Then, suddenly, the floorboards beyond her, seemed to spring up, and she tripped, causing her to fall to the ground. She screamed as she hit the ground, feeling the sharp charges down her back, but then whimpered as the black mist finally enclosed around her.

It curled itself her ankles, much like a snake or serpent or some kind—securing itself to her, not letting her escape it again. She then heard the laugh transform into a soft yet dangerously quiet chuckle—as if the entity was pleased that it had finally caught up to her. Shizuka tried to struggle, but her attempts were rendered useless.

She could no longer run: It had _caught_ her.

The darkness… The ubiquitous and vile darkness… It was _cold._ So cold. Like ice! Sharp icicles, digging into her flesh and freezing her in her place. She could _feel _her fingertips shaking, _see_ her breath as it emerged from her mouth in mists, and she could hear—by god she could _hear_— as the voice cooed softly to her, taunting her, just as the black mist began to swallow her whole.

_Shizuka-chan…_ the voice purred. _Poor little Shizuka-chan…_

Shizuka looked down at her hands, and watched helplessly as the darkness engulfed them, watching as they faded away into shadow, turning them into the darkness itself. She could feel herself sinking… sinking… sinking into the abyss itself. It was as if it were quick-sand.

_You can't escape me now, Shizuka… You are eternally caught in my web…_

As the mist began to cloud over her vision, she thought, tears falling from her eyes as she witnessed the last traces of the world around her before the darkness took her… 'Please… Onii-chan… Yuugi-san… Anzu-san… Honda-san… Save me… Please…'

She then watched as the shadows engulfed her, and then she saw nothing but two glacier colored eyes staring down at her, _smirking_ at her, causing Shizuka's breath to catch in her throat.

_You're mine, Shizuka… Mine…_

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Shizuka woke up, completely petrified, a cold sweat running down the edges of her sideburns. She sat up directly in her bed, the covers falling from her chest to her lap, ragged breaths escaping from her throat. However, no comfort from the end of dream had arrived, for she was still in the source of that evil and wicked fantasy's dwelling. 

The room was well furnished—with beautiful, warm, happy colors, ones which would remind a person of a rainbow of some sort—but nothing here could bring any sort of cheer to the heart of Shizuka.

After she had been escorted from the building of Kaiba Corporation, she had ridden, alone, in the backseat of a limo (the doors were locked—of course) to the Kaiba Manor. Once they had arrived, she had been pulled into one of the guest rooms by the guards, one where they had locked her inside, silencing any hope for Shizuka to run away. She had also been told that the alarms would surely alert them if she had tried any illicit (by _their_ means) activity.

Shizuka was trapped—in a situation where there were no chances of escape or rescue.

She looked back down at her blanket, deep in thought, her fingers groping the edge of the velvety bead-spread tightly.

The bed she was sleeping on was a queen sized canopy bed, with beautiful rose, magenta curtains, held up by mahogany poles. Lilac sheets and a light yellow bedspread covered the mattress and Shizuka's lower abdomen, along with a beautiful watermelon colored trim which clung at the base of the bed, barely draping over the floor. The carpet was of languid lavender color, reaching out all the way to the far corners of the room. The tall, glass, cathedral-like window, which stood beside the bed (on it's left hand side) had beautiful, translucent, white silk curtains hanging from the window pain atop it, with tints of lavender and pink seemingly glowing upon its edges. **(A/N 1)**

The moonlight still shone through the window, it's elegant light reflecting just off of Shizuka's blankets, lighting up her lap with its faint luminosity, looking almost ghost-like, with the only the shadows of the window panes interfering with the image.

Shizuka looked around the room for a few moments, before she brought her hands up to her eyes and sobbed, wanting very much to leave the home of the monster who had abducted her. Her sobs caught in her throat, breaking into a thousand pieces, tears streaming down the edges of her face.

She missed her brother so badly… She could not recall a time, other than when she had first moved with her mother, when she had most desperately needed him. Moreover, seeing that actually _seeing_ him was out of the question—at least for her—all she wanted to do was to hear his warm, gentle voice, even just once. She didn't know if she would ever hear it again.

_I can't let you out of here after seeing it—especially before Yuugi and his friends get wind of it. It would ruin the experience for them… _

As she continued to let out her negative thoughts and feelings, the door to her room slowly began to creak open—Shizuka unknown to this faint detail. It opened, silently and slowly, Shizuka not catching notice of it at all, until it had swung all the way open. The faint sound of the doorknob hitting the edge of the wall appeared to have been just enough to catch the young woman's attention. Shizuka suddenly ceased in her cry and looked up, her eyes widening at the scene. Seeing the open door caused a swarm of thoughts to fly into Shizuka's train of thought.

Why was the door open? Was someone out there? Did he open it? Shizuka then felt goose-bumps rise off of her arms and the hair on the back of her neck stand on end.

Had… "Kaiba" opened it? Was he the one who did it? Shizuka grasped the covers so tightly that she could feel her nails digging into her palms.

Was he out there? Was he… going to come in? 'No…' she thought, pathetically, 'Please, no… I don't want to see him… Not here… Not now…' Then she heard the sound of footsteps approaching the door and her heart froze. She brought the blankets back up to her chest, her eyes wide and petrified with anxiety, and watched as the person stepped into the room.

The identity of the person surprised Shizuka. No, he didn't shock her or anything, but was enough to confuse her, at least. No… It was Kaiba. Although he did look something like him—it couldn't have been him. It was a little boy—somewhere around the age of ten or eleven—with chestnut brown hair and cobalt blue eyes—and he had a sort of gloomy expression upon his face, making him look somewhat put out. He was holding something in his hands, something that looked like a deflated rubber ball, holding it as a color guard holds a folded flag; carefully and delicately. He continued to walk into the room until he stood before Shizuka's bed and remained there, eyes locked upon the floor. Shizuka honestly did not know what to make of this. What was there to make of it? Then, the boy looked up at her, and stared at her, with that same down-cast expression, causing Shizuka's heart to throb viciously in her chest. **(A/N 2)**

The boy's expression was enough to pull at anyone's heart-strings. It was the one a disappointed child would give to his mother or father, after something had upset him. The face of one who had been looking forward to something so cherishing and exciting, something that one would never want to miss, only to have it disappear before him at the very last minute. No one could look upon a face like that and not show some form of pity or sorrow. It's impossible, really—and yet…

Still… Shizuka couldn't figure out what to make of this. In addition, she couldn't help but wonder what a boy like this would be doing in this mansion, out of all places in the world in the first place, let alone _her _room. Yet at the same time, as she stared into those sad, sad eyes, she found herself desperately wanting to remove that heart-breaking look from the young lad's features.

Shizuka, forcing a smile on her face, (the best she could do under the current circumstances) looked directly at the boy and asked, "H-Hello. Are you lost?"

The boy heard this, looked up and his eyes widened. Upon seeing Shizuka, he looked almost on the verge of blushing but then just as instantly looked away from her.

He did not answer her.

Shizuka, trying to find some other ways of getting the boy to lighten up, pointed at what was in his hands and asked, "What is it that you have there?"

The young boy looked towards her directly again, although, not looking at her directly in the eye, answered quietly, yet politely, "My hear—I mean, my 'ball…' It's broken…" Tears were beginning to form in the poor boy's eyes and Shizuka took notice of this.  
Shizuka felt her heart wrench underneath her breast, and continued to feel absolute pity for the child before her. She couldn't stand this! She couldn't stand seeing him like this! She then narrowed her eyes. She had to do something about this.

She then got out of bed and held her hands out before her. The boy stared at her, oddly. She smiled and asked, "Can I take a look at it?"

The boy suddenly narrowed his eyes, and backed way from her, holding the ball closer to his chest, as a mother would do with her newborn. It was as if he was willing to sacrifice anything, even his life to protect it. Shizuka was slightly taken aback by this. She explained her cause, "Maybe I can fix it… You never know, right? It could be repair—"

The boy glaring at her, shouted, "You can't _touch_ it." Then he just as suddenly threw the ball at her, and Shizuka responded by instinctually reaching out and catching it. The second she did and grasped the deflated ball between her fingers, she winced. She then felt something sharp travel her hands, pain to be more precise—in the form of broken glass. She looked down at the ball, and her eyes widened when she was thick blotches of red upon the ball and her fingertips. The ball was, indeed, "broken"—but broken in a way as if it had been broken into pieces.

The shards had cut themselves into her flesh—burying themselves inside her palms and the bases of her fingers. She dropped it almost instantly and stared at the gashes upon her hands, her eyes wide with fear. She dropped to her knees, staring peculiarly at the gashes upon her hands, continuing to wince at the pain as blood dripped from her hands.

Then, suddenly, a small hand touched hers. She looked up and saw that the young boy was staring at her. He then suddenly kneeled down and unwrapped Shizuka's palm, Shizuka cringing in pain. He then reached out for the small piece of glass, and cautiously removed it, as if he was trying to take it in the most gentle way possible. As he continued to pull out the shards, with the occasional flinches form Shizuka, Shizuka felt tears form in her eyes. Upon hearing her sniffles, the boy looked at Shizuka, and seeing the small streams of salty water pouring down her cheeks, whispered, "Don't cry…" Shizuka heard this and stared at the boy strangely. Then, the boy pulled out the land shard of glass from Shizuka's hand, and took both of them in his own, holding them with great care. Shizuka continued to look at him, not understanding what in the least was going on.

The boy seemed to understand her confusion, and furthermore, seemed to find it somewhat amusing and smiled at her—the first true smile Shizuka had seen upon his face. A smile tugged at her own features and in time, finally gave way. The second her smile appeared upon her face, the pain on her hands disappeared, along with the blood, and the wounds and cuts vanished, leaving not a mark or scar upon Shizuka's now soft looking skin.

Shizuka took notice of this and let go of the young boy's hands, staring flabbergasted at her own, not understanding how something like this could be possible.

Surprising, an action such as this did not upset the child. Rather, the boy's smile broadened, and he closed his eyes, a warm, school-boy like laugh escaping form his lips.

Then, the boy vanished, looking as though he was additively dissolving into thin air—leaving Shizuka kneeling alone, in the middle of the room. Shizuka stared, open-mouthed. This didn't make any sense. How could something like that happen?

Then, something else dawned on her.

She was able… to "_see"_ that… She had witnessed the whole thing! She sawit—just as any other normal person. How could that be? She was progressively blind! Something like this shouldn't be possible!

_Don't Cry… _

_…Don't Cry… _

_… … … Don't cry… _

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Upon hearing the sounds of birds singing and chirping, just outside of her window, Shizuka's eyes slowly opened up once more, this time flinching as the strong sunlight shined in her face from the window of Kaiba's mansion. Although, not being able to see it directly, it still hurt her eyes, all the same. She sat up in her bed and looked around the room. 

She saw nothing—her vision was back to the way it was. She was back in a world of blurs and mirages—not knowing if what she was actually seeing was there. However, she couldn't care less. She looked down at her lap and stared at her hands, lightly biting her bottom lip.

It was so strange… That dream—from the previous night—It… It had been so… so real. So authentic but in another way—surreal and fantasy-like. She had never had a dream like that before.

However, the real enigma was the identity of that young boy. As far as she could tell, she had never seen anyone like that before in her life. Who was he? Where did he come from? Also, how did he manage to enter her subconscious and appear in her unconscious train of thought?

She would have continued to dwell upon those riddles hovering over her mind like a cloud of some kind—if the remembrance of what was going on in her life hadn't dawned upon her at that very moment.

She faced the facts. She was still in Kaiba's mansion, her brother was in danger—along with his friends, and she was probably wasn't far from the same fate. Then, the sound of a key on the other side of the door, silenced her thoughts and her heart stopped. After hearing a sort of metallic-related twisting sound, the doorknob slowly turned and whoever it was on the other side of the room stepped inside…

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- TO BE CONTINUED -

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The following is _not_ meant to be counter fanfictionDOTnet format. These are merely author notes. They are not meant to counteract the rules or restrictions of the webmaster's policies in anyway. Thank you for your attention.

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**Author Note 1 –** Do tell me; how many of you were smart enough to know that the previous scene was a dream sequence? Well, good for you. Anyway, I am really relying on the manga for this story. The room just displayed is actually Kaibas room—the colored version from Shonen Jump issue number eleven. Yeah—sure doesn't sound like Kaiba's room, does it? (Kaiba's room is pink, and Pegasus's is blue. Something's **wrong** here!) However, I am going to be completely creating Kaiba's room from my own fandom (because even Kazuki Takahashi's original version doesn't sound right). So, his room is now the guest room. Thank you.

**Author Note 2 – **For those of you who 'want' to know—this is not the boy at the beginning of the story. This is a younger Kaiba—and yes, Shizuka isn't out of the woods of her unconscious fantasies just yet. As further proof—if you hadn't taken notice of this hint—how was Shizuka able to see? And yes, this whole scene is one lousy metaphor. Enjoy.

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**Random Note: **Okay, um… I know that that was kind of short—and I am sorry to keep you guys waiting this long for something as pathetic as this—but with school, driver's ed and writers block—things just really suck. Also, I am fully dedicating myself to improving Love and Lust in Ancient Egypt, (I really _hate_ that fiction—I am trying to improve it to have it live up to my own expectations, as well as everyone else's) so I want to complete that. 


	8. Chapter 7: Beelzebub’s Kinsman

**Author Note:** First off, I want to thank each and every one of you for putting up with those repairs and waiting this long for me to come up with something, and secondly … ? … (total blank) damn… Lesson? Never, _ever_ start your sentences with 'first off' if you don't know your second reason, because if you do, you loose half the respect of your friends right there. (sigh)

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**Disclaimer: **Well, I can't think a of a good disclaimer this time (not that they 'are' good in the first place), so I'll just use Setine's from the fiction How to Write A Craptasitc Silentshipping Story: "Like omg! I don't own YGO b/c if I did, I would make Serenity and Seto go at it every minute. And Bakura and Malik would wear tighter ass pants that made them look like hookers. And Pegasus would be gay and killed off… so would Dartz and EEEEEWWW no Yaoi b/c Yaoi is gross and people you like Yaoi are ssstttuppiiid and r going 2 burn in hell. EWWWWWW. Oh! And Amelda. Amelda is just gay. OMFG! Don't u no that Seto is 4 Serenity? GRROSSS! SXS FOREVVVAAA!" –end of disclaimer– (glares at about twenty different things contained in that message alone) (clicks her tongue once) Okay then… Moving _on…_

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**Plot:** After being defeated by Mutou Yuugi in the Magic and Wizards card game, Kaiba Seto will go at any lengths to get revenge on him and his friends. However, when Jounouchi's little sister Shizuka enters the picture, how will that work to Kaiba's advantage? Nonetheless, the abduction of Shizuka is merely an "upgrade" for his ultimate plan for vengeance. Or rather, the _Ultimate Game._

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**Genre: **Romance/Angst/Drama/Suspense

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**Pairing(s):**

Seto/Shizuka

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**Warning:** T (PG-13) (Parent Guidance Suggested) For Scary Scenes, Cursing and Mild Sensuality

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-_Imperfect __Paradise__ (Yamiko)_

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To Freeze Her Heart  
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By Imperfect Paradise

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**-Chapter Seven-  
**"Beelzebub's Kinsman"

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Shizuka inhaled deeply as she heard the door slowly creak open. It was around this time when she began to wonder whether or not she should hide under the covers, move away, or find some spot of salvation from whatever God was randomly about to throw upon her. However, whatever would come to pass, she abruptly came to the conclusion that it was too late to act nor do anything to do anything at this point. She cringed as it swung all the way open, wanting more than anything to have her brother with her—but was shocked when she took notice of something rather peculiar. 

Now, she was well expecting to hear someone of _reasonable_ stature to enter the room before her, (and as a result, would have heavier, stronger and swift sounding footsteps) but was little less than confused when she heard the distinct sound of the footsteps that clearly belonged to someone who had to have been no more than five feet at the most. They belonged—not to a man—but to a child, or perhaps a younger teen (or maybe even a dwarf if she half expected Kaiba to be a little more unusual than originally predicted); certainly not someone she expected to see here, in the den of the dragon who had her viciously caught between his jaws, with no intentions of setting her free anytime soon. She had reasons for believing so, because other than the footsteps themselves, she could hear the distinct sound of sturdy rubber squeaking against the carpet, making a very annoying friction sound that tingled Shizuka's ears slightly. The sound belonged to a pair of sneakers and seeing that Kaiba's guards wouldn't wear anything remotely similar to that—the possibilities were now limited to what had to have been an elementary or junior high schooled child. Certainly not someone Shizuka should fear, right?

She then heard the footsteps stop somewhere in the middle of her room—most likely between her bed and the door. She stared, curiously into open space (in the direction towards the source of the sound) before she heard a bemused chuckle of a twelve year old, snickering quietly, as if seeing Shizuka in the state she was in was amusing in some way. It then spoke to her:

"Oh? So _you_ are the one that Nii-sama brought here. He said you were nothing special—seems he was right…"  
Shizuka's eyes widened when she heard this. 'Nii-san?' she thought, timidly. Her hands then clutched the edge of the blanket, just before asking the traditional question, "…W-Who are you?"

"Who are _you_?" the voice asked back, the complacent expression still visible in its tone.

Shizuka stopped and blinked when she heard this. 'Okay,' she thought. She then opened her mouth, paused for a moment (hesitating), before she asked, some form of confusion in her voice, "E-Excuse me?"

"I just asked who you were. What are you, an idiot or something?"

Shizuka protested, "But_ I_ just asked you that—"

"I asked you first…"

"No you didn't, I—"

"_Just_ answer the question, dweeb! Or you can just rot in here for the rest of your life—either way, I'll benefit."

Shizuka cringed for a moment (man, the little boy was just as ruthless as—) before she squeaked out, "Sh-Sh-Shizuka…"

"Well, Sh-Sh-Shizuka—what importance do you serve to my big brother?"

Shizuka instantly looked up, a look of total confusion etched upon all corners of her face. She asked, trying to get the facts, "Whose brother? Tell me! Who are you?"

"Heh…"

Shizuka stared for a moment (not liking this one bit) but then leaned back when she heard the sound of those squeaking sneakers as they made their way over towards her. The mattress then shifted as whoever had entered the room sat down next to her (or, in this case, had gracefully fallen down and had just as instantly sat back up). The owner of the voice chuckled for only a moment before he continued, "Well…?"

Shizuka stared in his direction, but then looked away again. Her gaze tilted towards the floor as she said quietly, "I-I don't know… I don't even know why I am here in the first place—"

"Well… _That's_ too bad." False pity and clear amusement was laced all over those words. Whatever the boy may have said, he obviously didn't mean any of it in the least.

As the boy continued laughing, Shizuka stared in his direction, sadly, yet with some form of rising anger.

And she had every good reason to.

Here she was… Captured… Contained… Away from her brother who was most certainly going to be killed by Kaiba—and whoever this little boy was, his motives for being here (whatever they may be) was _not_ helping. She looked away again, not wanting to put up with anymore of this and turned around so her back was facing the direction of the little boy—

But the moment she did, she suddenly felt her head strain. "_Owww__!"_ She cried out as a handful of her hair was clutched and yanked by the little boy. She heard the voice laugh again, and whatever had her hair clutched jerked harder. Shizuka cringed for a moment (the boy giggling), before she shrieked, "Stop it!"

The boy suddenly let go and Shizuka turned in the direction of the boy, as if attempting to parry his attempts at irritating her. However, when she did that, something had grabbed another tuft of her hair on the other side and began to pull that end too, Shizuka responding by crying out loud again. She looked in his direction, horrified, her eyes watering dangerously. The little boy only laughed harder, squealing with delight through inward gasps, "_Oh-ho!_ This is just _too _good!" It was around this point, when Shizuka hunched over, her breath catching in her throat.

As this terrible session of pain continued, Shizuka, who was drowning from the emotional pressure as well as suffering from the physical pain itself, as it was being cruelly administered to her, just couldn't restrain herself any longer now. Tears finally withdrew themselves from her eyes and she broke out into sniffles, and then into small sobs. She brought her hands up to her face, trying to hold them back, not wanting this to continue.

However, this did little more than encourage the boy, who now took to poking at her as if she was some inanimate object. The boy sneered at Shizuka, taunting in a sing-song voice, "Shizuka is cry-_ing!_ Shizuka is cry-_ing!" _**(A/N 1) **

Tears streamed down from her eyes as the young boy continued jabbing at her, not giving a single care to her feelings, her fears, and her well-being.

This torturous session only lasted for half a second longer—before the door opened up for a second time, causing the boy to pause in his _actions _in order to look up in the direction of whoever entered. The second he did, he let go of her hair, and Shizuka shrunk away, crying a bit.

"Mokuba, what the bloody hell do you think you are doing in here?" the haunting voice of Seto Kaiba boomed, causing Shizuka to wince slightly. Heavier footsteps were sounded as Kaiba began walking over in their direction.

The boy looked up at him and said, in what was supposed to be a benign tone of voice, "Oh! Nothing at all, Nii-sama! We were just playing… Weren't we Shizuka?"

Shizuka whimpered for a moment longer, before a strangled cry escaped from her throat, and she then broke down into screaming sobs. Beyond her knowledge, Mokuba smirked and folded his arms across his chest, his eyes holding a smug light within them.

At this response, Kaiba narrowed his eyes and a frown accompanied his features. He spoke dully, "This room is off limits to everyone else, Mokuba—and then includes you. Now—school starts in fifteen minutes. Get your things and go outside. The limo is waiting for you."

Mokuba moaned in any annoying tone, "Nii-sama, I just got back from the hospital. Can't I just take one more day off?"

At those words, an infuriated look found itself on Kaiba's features, and his eyes burned for a few seconds with hidden anger. This expression caught Mokuba unexpectedly. The raven haired boy's smugness and satisfaction disappeared completely from his face, replacing it with heavy worry and something that looked like self concern.

Kaiba then spoke darkly, his eyes narrowing to a critical state, "Which just happens to be your own fault."

Mokuba protested, "Nii-sama! I—"

"Didn't I warn you about Yuugi and his tricks? Didn't I warn you that that boy isn't like any other? I warned you, Mokuba, I _warned_ you, and you didn't listen. That entire event is behind us now—forever, I might add—and the memory will be only placed on _your_ shoulders. _Not _mine. I have no business with it."

Mokuba stood up, and brought his hands out before him and explained, "But Nii-sama… I-I thought that you would be proud that I—"

"I will not proud of a _looser _Mokuba!"

Mokuba flinched when he heard this, taking a step backward and tumbling back on to the bed. He fell about an inch away from Shizuka—who looked in his direction, in total shock. Kaiba continued to stare dangerously at him for a moment, before he looked out towards the door, not saying a word. After a moment of this sustained silence, he looked back over at Mokuba and sneered, "Accomplishment can only be obtained by intelligence. Moreover, seeing that you obviously lack it—you better get to school and prove me wrong."

At these words, Mokuba stared at his brother for a moment. Then, in a matter of seconds, Mokuba instantly sat up and ran out of the door, without as much as even throwing a glance at Shizuka or even his older brother. Shizuka listened quietly as the footsteps of the young boy faded away, until they weren't heard any longer.

Kaiba continued to glare after his little brother for a moment longer, not believing that the little imbecile had dared defied him. Damn him. He had specifically told his brother "not" to go after Yuugi. But he did it anyway—against his will. He had tossed away the wisdom of his older brother in exchange for a faraway dream. In addition, if memory served him right, he had recalled specifically telling Mokuba not to bother with his captive—and how did he respond? By going in anyway and making her cry.

Then again, why the hell should he feel sorry for her? Why the hell should he feel at all ashamed of making someone spill her tears? No that wasn't what he thinking about anyway. The fact remained that Mokuba was pulling off new tricks now, left and right. At least one a day now, and this was really starting to annoy him. He had to put an end to it.

As for Shizuka…

He looked back into the room, taking notice of the young girl, who was curled up in a little ball, continuing to whimper in her secluded area. After staring at her for a moment longer, (deciding he couldn't take much more of it) he narrowed his eyes and stated two words:

"Don't cry."

When she heard this, Shizuka suddenly stopped and looked up, her eyes widening slightly. For a moment, she just sat there, saying anything. Did she hear that correctly? She couldn't have, right? She then listened as Kaiba's footsteps walked away from her, heading towards the exit of the room. After thinking for a moment, she looked off in his direction, just before she heard the sound of a door slamming. She remained there for a moment, not believing what she had heard, the image of the boy in her dream continuing to haunt her.

_Don't__ cry…_

_… Don't cry…_

_… … … Don't cry…_

* * *

The night was dark and quiet, with only the sounds of the blowing winds and creaking wood accompanying its bleak party. The land was barren and old, looking as though it were either abandoned or hadn't been tended to in _months._ Animals ran loose in the driveway, tumble weeds blew everywhere, and there were no signs of any form of civilized life. 

Then, two beams of identical light shone onto what looked like a abandoned wooden fortress, as a rental car from the Chicago airport drove up against driveway of the foreboding property. They remained there for a moment, until the car came to a complete stop, and shut off as they keys came out of the ignition. The car-doors opened up as two men stepped out of the vehicle, holding two high beams flashlights in their hands, turning them on, instantaneously.

For a moment, they just stared out at the scenery before them, raising their eyebrows before they began walking towards the barn, the flashlight beams bouncing with every step taken. One of the two men shined his flashlight directly at the barn, while the other one's sort of lingered at his feet, as the man wasn't confident in any way.

And that he was. For to be completely honest, he wasn't too happy with the assignment that was given to him and his partner by Kaiba-sama just a few days ago. In fact, the word "happy" itself, was not even an _acceptable_ term for the situation they had been placed in. The man (Takuya) looked over at his partner, who had a complacent smirk on his face, looking as though he did something of this nature all the time, which actually made Takuya feel uneasy.

His partner, Saruwatari, had only joined Kaiba Corporation about a month ago. Little was known about his personal background before he had obtained the position. Sure, he could speak perfect English, and he was more than fit for a job of this nature—but there was just something about the man himself that made Takuya feel a little uneasy. **(A/N 2)**

Then again, this whole job made him feel uneasy. For he was not used to hunting down and conversing with American Serial killers, especially late at night on foreign soil. Also, the silent dead of the dark only increased his anxiety, making it worse with each passing second.

Deciding that it was a little too quiet, Takuya started, a small trace of fear visible in his voice, "So… Is it true that this guy killed thirty people?"

Saruwatari stopped for a moment, shining his flashlight on to a different part of the property. After staring at it for a moment, he then drawled, "That was only one night… He's probably added a few since then. Oh, and you better assume that he had a history even before that."

When he heard this, Takuya stopped in his tracks and shivered a moment. Christ, what the hell was he doing here?

Damn… Over thirty people had died at the hands of this monster that Kaiba had offered big bucks to find. He looked back behind him, looking longingly at the car, wishing more than anything that the two of them could just get back in and drive away—far away. Seriously, come on! Was something like this worth his life?

He then looked back over at Saruwatari, wanting to say something (perhaps a suitable excuse to get out of this mess) but then took notice of the fact that Saruwatari was already more than a distance away from him. As the space between he and him grew larger, Takuya squeaked, "Hey! Wait up!" and ran over to him, not wanting to be alone.

Just as Takuya reached him, Saruwatari suddenly stiffened and turned around towards him, his eyes blazing with intensity. "Shut up you fool!" he snapped. "He'll _hear _us!"

Takuya stammered in the bravest voice he could muster, "As if he hasn't already! Y-Y'know Saruwatari… Maybe w-w-we should just go back now—"

Saruwatari let out a small laugh, before he stated bluntly, "Oh. And just what do you plan to tell Mr. Kaiba when we get back, hmmm…?"

Takuya just stared back at him, horrified, his eyes pupils shrinking and his mouth opening and closing soundlessly.

Yes… That was more than true. If he ran away now, Kaiba-sama would surely not take the news with good tidings. Hell, he wouldn't take them in any case. Deadly consequences would surely come into play at the news of his employee's cowardice. Consequences one could only see in his or her nightmares. Then again… Anything sounded better then hunting for a psychopathic American serial killer in the abandoned outskirts of Illinois in the late evening. But still!

Saruwatari smirked (loving the effects of his words) and then pressed forward, Takuya gulping for a moment and then following timidly from behind. In what seemed like a century, they finally reached the wooden fortress; a two story barn, which looked as though it had been subject-able to dilapidation and decay. As they stopped before it, Takuya looked directly at his partner and asked, "So, uh… What do we do now?"

Growling slightly, Saruwatari stepped forward and effortlessly kicked the edge of the building, which fell forward and collapsed, opening up the inside of the barn. As the dust cleared away, revealing the inside of the abandoned shelter, Takuya's eyes widened and Saruwatari raised his eyebrows, taking a good look at the disgusting display before them. **(A/N 3)**

As Takuya paled at the sight of the gruesome, horrifying scene (not believing that any human could be capable of such… such _madness_) Saruwatari smirked and commented, "Well… … _That's _something you don't see everyday…"

Takuya said nothing, obviously in total shock with what was behind displayed before him. He couldn't believe this. He just could not believe this! By God, he could be _next! _Seriously—just _look_ at all of them!

Ignoring the thoughts and feelings of his associate, Saruwatari casually stepped inside, kicking something away from his feet, creating a new path for him. Takuya then snapped out of his grossed-out phase, and slowly followed Saruwatari inside, eyes darting from one victim to the next. After taking a grand total of seven steps into the morgue-like barn, the sound of a small click was heard.

"What was that," Takuya asked, looking around.

Saruwatari rolled his eyes and murmured, "Ahhh Hell…"

Then, as quick as a flash, the sound of a chainsaw had turned on, and something big and heavy had begun to make its way over towards them, a blunt and burly sounding laugh making itself heard. Takuya shone his flashlight in the direction of the sound, and as a result, nearly fainted at what he saw before them.

There, standing about five feet away from him, holding an electric powered saw in what looked like the arms of a gorilla, was what looked like a cross between Boris Karloff's Frankenstein and Friday the Thirteenth's Jason, standing at the height of what appeared to be no more, no less than two men. The creature stared at Takuya for a moment, before he raised the chain saw in his hands and giggled for a moment as he spoke, "Ahh! Mah pee-poo! Ah ill cub yah…" **(A/N 4)**

With those "words" in mind, the creature then came after Takuya, cranking the chain saw in his hand, getting it ready for the cruel fate intended for its target. Takuya stared at him for a moment, dropped his flashlight and then fell to his knees, knowing very well that this was the end for him. The creature stood before him and effortlessly raised the chainsaw in his hands, preparing to bring it down before the fearful man—

When the electric device suddenly went dead. The creature heard this and looked up at it oddly, not understanding what had happened. It was around this time when Takuya opened his eye, taking a small peak at what was happening. The monster spoke out loud, "Huuh? Wha—" Then suddenly, something metal and heavy collided with the side of the creatures head, and as a response, it immediately tumbled forward. Takuya managed to scramble out of harm's way, just as the monster collided with the ground, missing him only by a few inches. After exhaling deeply, the creature lay there, still, not moving a muscle, however, Takuya knew that such a blow could not kill a monster like the one he had just seen before him. It was impossible. He then heard a chuckle before him, and looked out ahead.

He saw Saruwatari holding what looked like part of a pillar of the barn in his hands, looking as though he had just swung it, conveniently standing about six feet away from what looked like an extension plug. After a few moments of Takuya just staring at him, Saruwatari then flung the object away (a slight echo-y-thud sounding shortly afterwards), and slowly walked over to Takuya. He stared at him for a moment before he asked, "Well… You okay?" **(A/N 5)** Takuya nodded quickly, more than thankful for Saruwatari's unusually kind actions. Saruwatari stared at him for a moment, before a smirk suddenly appeared on his stoned features. "Good. Then you can help me load him into the car. You wait here, I'll get the chains…" He then began walking back towards the car, Takuya staring at him oddly as he did.

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-TO BE CONTINUED-

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The following is _not_ meant to be counter fanfictionDOTnet format. These are merely author notes. They are not meant to counteract the rules or restrictions of the webmaster's policies in anyway. Thank you for your attention.

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**Author Note 1 – Hey**. I recall saying that there was going to be no fluff of any kind. This is not like those other Kaiba kidnaps Shizuka fics, where Mokuba pities Shizuka/Serenity and tries to help. Mokuba is the devil's kin in this. Why? Because he too wants to see Yuugi suffer (since he defeated his brother at Magic and Wizards _and _defeated _him _at Capsule Monster Chess), and agrees with his brother's plan. I'm doing this to stay true to the earlier version of the Manga, and I swear to God, if I get one more review saying I'm "out of character" with this in any way—just one- more review—I just might put an ax through the computer screen.

**Author Note 2 –** Yeah. I know perfectly well that Saruwatari is Pegasus's henchmen, not Kaiba's. But in the manga, Saruwatari had joined Kaiba Corporation as a spy—so… I am incorporating that. Who knows, I might make a sequel to this thing, and with that in mind, I should prepare myself. Thank you.

**Author Note 3 –** I'm sorry. I can't describe what you are seeing because this is a "T" (PG-13) rated fanfiction… (I do hope you know what I am implying though) So… You'll just have to use your imagination. Gomen.

**Author Note 4 –** Translation? (God only knows) Meh-heh! Alright fine: "Ah! More people! I'll club you!" Also, for those of you who haven't read the manga, you are probably wondering what the hell this _thing _is doing in my fiction. Well, if you read the manga, you would know. That's all I will give to you. In the mean time, just wait for few more chapters, and you will understand where I am going with this. Thank you.

**Author Note 5 –** Okay, now this may be confusing to some of you? Why is Saruwatari being so kind? We all know that he is a first class asshole with serious issues. Well, let's just say, that in the manga, he only recruits half of Kaiba's forces to Industrial Illusions (which sort of makes you wonder why the _hell _he did that) so this is sort of hinting that. Yah-huh.

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**Random Note: **Okay, now that is it for the weekend. I am actually going to be gone for four days (Saturday through Tuesday) and I won't be back until Wednesday. I have already started production on the sixth chapter of Half of My Heart so expect that up some time in the future, along with many other fictions (please visit profile for MORE information). Thank you. 


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